Government Will Need Extra £2 Billion a Year to House Migrants, Watchdog Warns

The UK could be banned from using foreign aid to pay for migrant hotel costs under the Home Office’s Rwanda plans.

A view of the scene outside the Comfort Inn hotel on Belgrave Road in Pimlico, central London, on June 2, 2023. James Manning/PA Wire

A watchdog has warned that the Home Office will have to find an extra £2 billion a year to fund the housing of illegal migrants when its new “stop the boats” law comes into force.

According to the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI), ministers could be blocked from diverting millions of pounds from Britain’s foreign aid budget when the Illegal Migration Act is fully implemented.