Britain has seen a dramatic spike in the number of asylum seekers receiving taxpayer-funded social care, shocking data shared with GB News has revealed.
Critics have blamed “Labour’s failure” to tackle illegal migration for the “eye-watering” spending on this support for those who have claimed asylum.
The criticism comes after a new report found that directly reported asylum-related social care spending more than doubled in real terms since 2019-20.
Total real expenditure rose from £299million in 2019-20 to a staggering £744million in 2024-25, amounting to an 148 per cent increase under Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership.
The spending on these services for migrants was uncovered in research carried out by the Taxpayers’ Alliance.
Of the money spent, City of London households faced the highest per capita costs at £400 per household in 2024-25, followed by Islington at £133 per household.
Meanwhile, the average social care spending on asylum seekers per household across all local authorities in 2024-25 stood at £34.
Responding to the findings, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “This is a catastrophic waste of money.
The spending on these services for migrants was uncovered in research carried out by the Taxpayers’ Alliance
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PA
“Asylum seekers mostly entered the country illegally and the British taxpayer should not be shelling out hard earned cash to put them up in hotels and mollycoddle them.
“No wonder our taxes are going up so much. The Conservative plan is to come out of the ECHR, which will enable us to deport all illegal immigrants within one week of arrival.”
Mr Philp fumed: “Then we won’t need to waste money on hotels and expensive social care.”
Since 2019–20, official records show that spending on asylum seeker social care has increased by 165 per cent, from £50.6million to £133.9million.
Sir Keir Starmer has overseen a rapid increase in spending
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PAA total of £744million is being used in 2024–25 to fund care for both adults and children.
In response, Anne Strickland, researcher of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said: “The escalating costs of providing social care for asylum seekers represents yet another ticking time bomb in town hall budgets, with local residents suffering the consequences.
“Taxpayers have watched on with dismay at the failure of successive governments to get a grip on this issue, knowing that they will inevitably end up picking up the tab.”
Ms Strickland fumed: “With councils essentially helpless in the face of this ongoing crisis, it’s imperative that Whitehall urgently finds a way to stop the migration crisis.”
Small boat migrants continue to cross the Channel under Sir Keir Starmer, taking the total to 194,000 | GB NEWS
A Reform UK spokesman also told The People’s Channel: “British taxpayers are paying through the nose for Labour’s failure to put an end to illegal migration.
“This eye-watering spending on adult social care for asylum seekers would not exist if the Government got control of our borders.
“Reform UK would ensure every illegal arrival is deported.”
Data shows that adult asylum seeker support rose in real terms by 165 per cent between 2019–20 and 2024–25, from £51million to £134million.
A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent | PA
Meanwhile, children’s asylum social care increased in real terms by 15 per cent over the same period, from £249million to £287million.
In response, Chairman of Migration Watch UK, Alp Mehmet, said: “This is no surprise.
“Some 190,000 migrants, most of whom claimed asylum, came in small boats alone between 2020 and 2025.
“The cost to local authorities will shoot up as the Government shunts those now in hotels around the country.
“Keir Starmer’s Government is failing even more spectacularly than its predecessor.”
A Government spokesman said: “We don’t recognise these figures. This Government has reduced asylum support costs by nearly a billion since the general election and the Home Secretary is taking tough action to fix our broken immigration system — removing incentives that draw people here illegally, scaling up removals, and revoking the legal duty to provide asylum-seeker support.
“The Government is overhauling the broken funding system we inherited and has made almost £78billion available to councils next year so that the most deprived communities benefit.”