Conservative Mismanagement of the Asylum System Revealed

David Hencke

Billions of pounds was wasted on a chaotic asylum accommodation system by three Conservative home secretaries, a highly critical parliamentary report recently revealed.

The actions of Priti Patel, Suella Braverman, and James Cleverly have resulted in a surge in the cost of the 10-year contracts with private companies to provide accommodation for asylum seekers – set to rise from an estimated £4.5 billion in 2019 to £15.3 billion by 2029.

The report, by the House of Commons’ Home Affairs Committee, found that many of the contracts signed by the Home Office were flawed, clauses to claim back excess profits made by accommodation providers were rarely used, and no penalties were issued by the department for poor performance.