Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 7
7
Acknowledged
Home Office lacks precise figures for Illegal Migration Act removals and Rwanda relocations.
Conclusion
We asked the Home Office how many people it planned to remove under the Illegal Migration Act. At our evidence session, the Home Office told us that it estimated at 28 December 2023 there were 33,000 people that the Home Secretary would have a duty to remove under the Act.8 We asked whether the Home Office had a duty to remove the additional 6,700 people who had crossed the Channel to date in 2024. The Home Office told us that it did not have an exact number of how many people were considered as being inadmissible and that it would have a duty to remove. It accepted that the total figure was at that point probably in excess of 40,000, and noted that the next statistics would be published in May.9 The latest statistics, published on 22 April 2024, showed there were more than 50,000 people living in the UK with no ability to claim asylum, who the Home Secretary will have a duty to remove.10 The Home Office also told us that it was extending its Voluntary Returns Service to offer failed asylum seekers £3,000 to relocate to Rwanda if they have not accepted to go back to their own country. The Home Office was unable to tell us how many more people could be relocated to Rwanda under this arrangement.11
Government Response Summary
The government notes the committee's observations but states they are no longer relevant as the Migration Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda is ending, meaning no removals will take place under this scheme.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
3.9 The government notes the Committee’s recommendation. 3.10 The government notes that this recommendation is no longer relevant as it has now confirmed that there will be no removals to Rwanda under the Migration Economic Development Partnership. 3.11 Individuals whose case had been on hold pending the operationalisation of the Illegal Migration Act and individuals who had previously been issued a notice of intent to remove them to Rwanda, will now have their asylum claims substantively considered.