Plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda ruled unlawful

Earlier this week, the Home Office published an economic impact assessment of the government’s Illegal Migration Bill – including the Rwanda plan.

It estimated that sending a migrant to a “safe country” such as Rwanda could cost £63,000 more than keeping them in the UK.

The sum is the difference between the gross cost of relocating an individual – put at £169,000 – and the £106,000 spent on housing support if a migrant remains in the UK.

The total of £169,000 includes a payment to that country of around £105,000 per person, as well as £22,000 for flights and escorting the individual.

But the government argues the policy would also have a deterrent effect – which would lead to savings, including a reduction in the asylum seeker hotel bill.

However, the Home Office said it was “uncertain” what level of deterrence impact the policy would have because it was “novel and untested”.

Read more here.