Local authorities across the UK have seen a notable rise in spending on social care for people seeking asylum.
Under existing laws, councils are responsible for providing adult social care, support for children in asylum-seeking families, and services for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.
A recent analysis by the campaign group TaxPayers’ Alliance shows that reported asylum-related social care expenditure has more than doubled since 2019-20, increasing from £299m to £744m in 2024-25.
Funding from the Home Office partially covers these costs, but councils report this does not always meet full expenditure, with shortfalls met from general budgets.
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