THE Tories’ Rwanda deportation policy will cost billions of pounds in public funds — four times more than processing asylum-seeker claims in Britain, new analysis shows.
The staggering costs of PM Rishi Sunak’s flagship policy are revealed in a new report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) today.
It came as Transport Secretary Mark Harper wouldn’t guarantee that migrant flights to the east African country would take off before the general election, saying only that was the government’s “intention.”
IPPR associate director for migration, trade and communities Marley Morris said: “Aside from the ethical, legal and practical objections, the Rwanda scheme is exceptionally poor value for money.
“For it to break even, it will need to show a strong deterrent effect, for which there is no compelling evidence.
“Under the government’s plans, billions could be sent to Rwanda to remove people who have already arrived irregularly since the Illegal Migration Act was passed.
“The only winner from this scheme appears to be the Rwandan government itself, which has already secured hundreds of millions without doing much at all.”
Under a five-year Rwanda deal, some asylum-seekers arriving in Britain would be sent to the landlocked African country to have their claims processed there.
The think tank’s analysis estimated the cost of sending one asylum-seeker to Rwanda could be as much as £228,000 if just 0.5 per cent of those sent there are granted asylum and return to Britain every quarter.
This is more than four times the cost of around £53,000 to house an asylum-seeker in British accommodation for two years while their application is being processed.
It added that to just break even the scheme would require a “highly unlikely” up to 77 per cent of migrants to be deterred from entering Britain.
An estimated 20,000 people have arrived irregularly in Britain since the original Rwanda Bill — the Illegal Migration Act — was passed.
The IPPR estimated that the total payment to Rwanda for removing this cohort would cost £1.1 billion even if every one left straight away, rising to £3.9bn if all stayed for at least five years.
The government is seeking to pass emergency legislation in Parliament to rescue its “stop the boats” policy after the Supreme Court said it was unlawful.
Ministers will today seek to overturn in the Commons changes made to their Safety of Rwanda Bill after a series of bruising defeats in the House of Lords.
