No Credible Plan for Sending Illegal Immigrants to Rwanda, Says Committee

The Public Accounts Committee said despite the Home Office having committed millions to its asylum plan, it has ‘little to show for the money spent so far.’

An inflatable craft carrying illegal immigrants crosses the shipping lane in the English Channel off the coast of Dover, England, on Aug. 4, 2022. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

The Home Office “does not have a credible plan” for sending illegal immigrants to Rwanda, a committee has said.

The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said in its report published on Wednesday that despite the Home Office having committed millions to its asylum plan, such as the Rwanda scheme and accommodation facilities, it had “little to show for the money spent so far.”

The PAC, a cross-party committee which examines the value for money of government projects, said that it was concerned by the Home Office’s “inability to explain the practical details” of its operational plans, such as where those who are subject to deportation currently are, the arrangements for escorting them to Rwanda, or estimates of flights and escort costs.

“We are left with little confidence in the Home Office’s ability to implement the Rwanda partnership, and its understanding of the costs, particularly given its track record in delivering other major programmes,” the report said.

The report was published a day after a High Court judge asked the government to confirm the earliest date on which it plans to deport illegal immigrants to Rwanda amid legal challenges over the scheme. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed last week that flights would not be taking off until after the general election on July 4.

£240 Million Sent to Rwandan Government

The Safety of Rwanda Bill—a key piece of legislation in the government’s Rwanda plan—received Royal Assent in April 2024.

However, the plan has been in motion since April 2022, when the government announced its partnership with Rwanda and pledged to pay Kigali significant sums for its part in the deal.

The PAC noted that by the end of March 2024, the UK had made £240 million in payments to the the Economic Transformation and Integration Fund—which is designed to support economic growth in the African country—“and payments to cover asylum processing and operational costs for individuals relocated to Rwanda.”

However, despite the near-quarter of a billion pounds being sent abroad for the purposes of deporting illegal immigrants, the UK “had not relocated anyone,” the PAC report noted.

It added that depending on the number of immigrants who are relocated, the UK could potentially end up paying “billions more.”

Accommodation Provisions ‘Woefully Short of Reality’

The PAC said that while it welcomed the government’s progress in moving illegal immigrants out of hotels, it said that the Home Office’s assessment of the requirements for setting up alternative accommodation in larger sites “fell woefully short of reality” and “risked wasting taxpayers’ money.”

It added that the new sites “will not house anywhere near as many people as initially expected, exacerbating existing accommodation issues.”

Some of the alternative accommodation involved the use of former military sites, including RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, a highly contentious choice of location because it was previously home to the Red Arrows and the famous World War II 617 Squadron, known as the “Dambusters.”

The district council challenged the decision, citing concerns over the preservation of historical buildings and warned it would hamper local regeneration efforts. In the end, the government capped the number of illegal immigrants to be housed at the site at 800, down from an earlier estimate of 2,000.

The PAC noted that RAF Scampton and RAF Wethersfield in Essex “will now accommodate significantly fewer people than the Home Office envisioned,” meaning “a higher per person cost” per site. The report added that the Home Office’s initial estimates for the set up costs for these bases was £5 million each, which then ballooned to £49 million at Wethersfield and £27 million at Scampton.

“These errors may ultimately cost the taxpayer £46 million more than if the Home Office had simply retained the use of hotels instead,” the report warned, echoing the estimate given by the National Audit Office in March.

Labour Brands Report ‘Damning’

Home Secretary James Cleverly did not comment on the report, but said that the cost of housing illegal immigrants could reach £11 billion a year by 2026 and this was “why our Rwanda scheme is so important.”

“People will only stop coming to the UK illegally when they know they won’t get to stay,” Mr. Cleverly said.

He then accused Labour of having “no plan to stop the boats,” warning, “They would scrap our Rwanda scheme and grant an amnesty to hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants with no right to be here.”

Home Secretary James Cleverly arriving in Downing Street for a Cabinet meeting in London on May 14, 2024. Lucy North/PA

Labour’s shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper branded the report “damning” and said it “confirms the complete chaos behind Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda con.”

Ms. Cooper said the prime minister “knows his gimmick won’t work to stop boat crossings—that’s why he has called an election, to prevent the entire scheme from unravelling.”

“He is trying to take voters for fools—and wasting hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money in the meantime,” she said.

The Epoch Times approached the Home Office for comment.

PA Media contributed to this report.