UK Home Office pushes asylum bill reforms in Parliament

Home Secretary [Name redacted] moved the Immigration and Asylum Bill to a second reading in the House of Commons, emphasizing a programme of reforms aimed at curbing illegal arrivals and reducing public costs.

The speech cited that 110,000 people arrived by small boat and 175,000 via other routes between January 2021 and June 2024, with asylum support spending reaching £4.7 billion in a single year and daily housing costs of £9 million for 400 asylum hotels. The government reported a 55 % rise in people‑smuggler arrests, disruption of organised immigration crime on 3,700 occasions and the thwarting of 46,000 attempted Channel crossings, aided by a new cooperation deal with French law‑enforcement that boosted French coast personnel by 53 %.

Domestic measures include a 41 % increase in removals, nearly 10,000 foreign criminals deported, the emptying of 20 % of asylum hotels and a 29 % reduction in hotel populations, cutting asylum costs by £1 billion. Yet 94,000 people remain in accommodation at an annual cost of £3.7 billion, and over 100 deaths have occurred in the Channel since the start of 2024.

The bill also proposes “capped, safe and legal” routes for genuine refugees, allowing communities, universities and businesses to sponsor newcomers, a model the minister referenced from Canada.