The Home Secretary has announced an end to taxpayer-funded taxi trips for asylum seekers attending medical appointments.
Shabana Mahmood revealed the ban on Saturday following an urgent review launched in September.
“This Government inherited Conservative contracts that are wasting billions of taxpayers’ hard-earned cash,” she said.
“I am ending the unrestricted use of taxis by asylum seekers for hospital appointments, authorising them only in the most exceptional circumstances.
“I will continue to root out waste as we close every single asylum hotel.”
It comes as part of a wider crackdown by the Government on asylum support, including scaling up removals of illegal migrants, tightening procurement and reducing reliance on hotels, in a bid to get to grips with immigration issues.
Here, The i Paper takes a look at Home Office costs for asylum seeker support.
The Government has announced a crackdown on support for asylum seekers, scaling up removal of illegal migrants (Photo: Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP/Getty)The cost of cabs for hospital appointments
A BBC investigation for File on 4 in September this year found “a constant stream of cabs arriving and leaving the four sites” it visited housing asylum seekers.
Regular movement between asylum accommodation means some people will be registered with GPs in areas where they are no longer living requiring greater travel to make appointments.
One resident said he had been on a 250-mile round trip by taxi, costing £600, to see a consultant for a knee problem. He said public transport was not presented as an option.
And a subcontractor told the BBC his firm would do up to 15 taxi drop-offs daily from a hotel in south east London to a doctors surgery around two miles away, costing the Home Office £1,000 a day.
The Government has confirmed it has spent an average of £15.8m a year on transport for asylum seekers.
Under the new rules, taxi use will only be permitted for those with physical disabilities, chronic illnesses and pregnancy-related needs or if moving between accommodations. It must now be signed off by the Home Office.
The Bell Hotel, in Epping, Essex, which has housed asylum seekers and was the location of a number of protests over the summer (Photo: Carlos Jasso/AFP/Getty)Housing asylum seekers in hotels
Under current government guidance, asylum seekers are entitled to housing – this could be in a flat, house, hostel or bed and breakfast.
A report by the Home Affair Committee last month found over the past six years, the Home Office had “presided over an increasingly expensive asylum accommodation system”.
It said the expected cost of the Home Office’s asylum accommodation contracts for the 10 years between 2019–29 has more than tripled, from £4.5bn to £15.3bn.
Dame Karen Bradley, Home Affairs Committee chair, said last month: “The Home Office has presided over a failing asylum accommodation system that has cost taxpayers billions of pounds.
“Its response to increasing demand has been rushed and chaotic, and the department has neglected the day-to-day management of these contracts.
“The Government needs to get a grip on the asylum accommodation system in order to bring costs down and hold providers to account for poor performance.”
Ministers said in June they will end the use of hotels to house asylum seekers by 2029, which the Chancellor Rachel Reeves says will save £1bn a year.
It followed an announcement by the National Audit Office forecasting housing costs for asylum seekers would hit £15.3bn over the next ten years.
Figures released earlier this week indicated 36,273 people were still living in UK asylum hotels.
General living costs
Aside from housing and transport, asylum seekers are entitled to cash support for living costs.
This amounts to £49.18 per person per week to pay for items such as food, clothing and toiletries.
If they are staying in accommodation which provides meals then it is reduced to £9.95 per person.
Your next read
square DISABILITY BENEFITSI have a BMW on Motability – I worry other cars won’t be safe for me
square NEWSMotability plans harsher crackdown on drivers who abuse the system
square BREXIT ExclusiveCheaper UK university fees for EU students to clinch Brexit reset deal
square POLITICS ExclusiveReform’s huge poll lead drops back as Tories gain ground after Budget
Extra payments are available per week for pregnant women (£5.25), babies under under one (£9.50) and children aged one to three (£5.25).
Parents can also apply for a one-off £300 maternity payment if their baby is due in 11 weeks or less or if the baby is under six months old.
And they are entitled to: free prescriptions for medicine, free dental care, free eyesight tests and help paying for glasses.
Latest government statistics, published this week, revealed at the end of September 2025 there were 111,651 individuals in receipt of asylum support, 2 per cent higher than the year before.
Hence then, the article about how much the home office spends on asylum seekers as taxi service axed was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( How much the Home Office spends on asylum seekers as taxi service axed )
Also on site :