Recommendation 28

The Home Office explained it plans to reduce costs quickly, in part, by focusing on upstream measures, such as controlling irregular arrivals through the new Border Security Command. In our evidence session, the Home Office described the Border Security Command as the “start of a very long haul,” emphasising that it is part of ongoing efforts to work upstream and collaborate with other countries. It explained that it had already invested £75 million to support new capabilities, such as additional specialist investigators, and planned to invest another £75 million this year.97 Given the costs already incurred, we asked the Home Office whether the Border Security Command is having an impact on those arriving illegally to the UK. It stressed it was “too early to point to particular reductions in numbers crossing the channel” but stated it was “tracking all those metrics” and agreed to keep us updated on its progress. 98 In addition, the Home Office also emphasised that while it was “maximising the use of existing hotels”, it was still reducing its reliance on hotels for asylum seeker accommodation. It said it had closed 191 hotels and lowered the per night costs from £8.8 million in 2023 to around £5.4–5.5 million.99 We reiterated our concerns that these measures may have implications on the wider asylum system, especially in terms of local authorities and the courts.100 93 HM Treasury, Autumn Budget 2024, 30 October 2024 94 C&AG’s Report, footnote 6 95 Q 114 96 Q 115 97 Qq 130-131 98 Q 131 99 Q 114 100 Committee of Public Accounts, The Asylum Transformation Programme, Seventy–Sixth Report of Session 2022–23, HC 1334, 27 October 2023, para 6 21 The Home Office stressed that the asylum system should be managed as a whole, not treated as a “crisis” requiring only “spot intervention” like clearing a backlog. It explained that its asylum and returns transformation program aims to address all stages of the process.101