Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 1
1
Accepted
Committee took evidence on Home Office Rwanda partnership and asylum accommodation plans.
Conclusion
On the basis of two reports by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Home Office about its partnership with the Government of Rwanda and its plans to accommodate people seeking asylum.1
Government Response Summary
The government confirms the funds paid to Rwanda as part of the Migration and Economic Development Partnership (MEDP) and states that the partnership has now ended, with no removals to Rwanda to take place under the MEDP.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented The Home Office has already set out the funds paid to the Government of Rwanda as part of the Migration and Economic Development Partnership (MEDP) in a letter to the Committee of 7 December 2023, alongside the department’s cooperation with the National Audit Office and Comptroller & Auditor General’s investigation into the costs of the partnership. Their report of 1 March 2024 accurately sets out the costs paid to Rwanda as part of the partnership. The funding paid to Rwanda is as follows: • £20 million advance payment as part of the operational funding, • £270 million in Economic Transformation and Integration Fund (ETIF) payments, to support economic development. I can confirm that this includes £50 million paid to Government of Rwanda in April 2024 after the Safety of Rwanda Act received Royal Assent and following the ratification of the UK-Rwanda Treaty: Agreement for the Provision of an Asylum Partnership (‘The Treaty’). The government has now confirmed that it will be ending the Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda, and that there will be no removals to Rwanda under the MEDP.