In a desperate move to address the eye-watering cost of sheltering them at taxpayer money, a leading Tory has urged on Britons to open their homes to asylum-seekers who cross the Channel.
Brandon Lewis has endorsed a new analysis from Policy Exchange, which claims that the “galvanisation of voluntary spirit” may reduce the £2.2 billion yearly cost of sheltering migrants in hotels and barges.
The report mentions British charity towards Ukrainian migrants as an example of the country’s desire to welcome those fleeing into the country.
According to Policy Exchange, the present asylum system is “not only too costly, but also too statist.”
It says such a policy would also allow wealthy, metropolitan progressive Brits to put their money where their mouth is, and stop dumping migrants into hotels in poorer areas.
“The key to better sharing the load with wealthier parts of ‘progressive liberal Britain’ – relatively pro-refugee areas which tend to have higher housing costs – is galvanising voluntary spirit.”
It adds that settled British migrants from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Syria could also aid the rehoming of asylum seekers with their “specific cultural assets”.
The report reveals the total annual cost of asylum-related spending is now £3.5 billion, including hotel accommodation, allowances, healthcare and school places.
Moreover, the central estimate of hotel costs alone is £2.2 billion a year – exceeding the Government’s levelling-up budget, and three times the Government’s investment in tackling homelessness.