Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 9
9
Rwanda migration scheme cancelled after £715 million spent without removals.
Conclusion
In July 2024, the government announced the cancellation of the Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda (MEDP).21 We noted that nobody had been removed under the scheme, and the Department told us that there were no flights under the scheme other than for four voluntary 12 Q 4 13 Qq 4, 6 14 C&AG’s Report, para 1.3 15 Q 4; C&AG’s Report, para 7 16 Q 1 17 C&AG’s Report, Asylum Accommodation, Figure 6; Home Office News story, ‘Contract for Bibby Stockholm not renewed past January 2025’, dated 23 July 2024 18 Committee of Public Accounts, Oral evidence: Asylum Accommodation and UK-Rwanda partnership, HC 639, 15 April 2024, Q 179 19 Home Office News story, ‘Home Office will not use RAF Scampton for asylum accommodation’, dated 5 September 2024 20 C&AG’s Report, para 10, 2.4 21 BBC News report, ‘Sir Keir Starmer confirms Rwanda plan ‘dead’ on day one as PM’, dated 6 July 2024 11 removals.22 Despite this, the Home Office spent around £715 million on the scheme, including on payments to Rwanda, staffing, flights and detention capacity.23