Labour Spends £40m Paying Migrants to Return Home as Mahmood Ramps Up Removals

Labour Spends £40m Paying Migrants to Return Home as Mahmood Ramps Up Removals

The Home Office has spent nearly £40 million under Labour paying migrants to leave the UK voluntarily, new figures obtained by The Independent reveal. The assisted returns programme, which offers individuals up to £3,000 to depart Britain, has been dramatically expanded since the party took power in July 2024. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has championed the scheme as a cost-effective alternative to detention and forced deportation, but the Conservatives have labelled it a “racket” that fails to address the root causes of illegal migration.

According to the latest Home Office data, 17,346 migrants accepted the assisted voluntary return offer between July 2024 and March this year, at a total cost of £35.7 million. A further £4 million was spent in April on a yet-to-be-published number of departures, pushing the total spend under Labour to £39.7 million. This represents a steep rise from the comparable period under the previous Conservative government, when 6,410 returns cost £24.2 million. The programme, which also covers flights, provides pre-paid cards topped up with cash that migrants can spend once they secure work or accommodation in their home country. Those eligible have no legal right to remain in the UK and are subject to a re-entry ban, preventing them from returning for a set period.

Mahmood’s Value-for-Money Argument

Speaking on Thursday, Ms Mahmood framed the expansion as a “vital step” in controlling Britain’s borders, pointing to figures showing the government’s removal of foreign criminals and those in the UK illegally had reached a near-decade high. That total included the return of 6,103 migrants who had arrived on small boats across the English Channel. The Home Secretary has consistently argued that voluntary returns offer taxpayers far better value than housing asylum seekers in hotels. The Home Office puts the average cost of an assisted voluntary return, including flights, at £4,000, compared with £48,000 for a forced return. A single family living in an asylum hotel costs £158,000 per year.

In March, Ms Mahmood launched a pilot project offering 150 families up to £40,000 each to leave Britain, and last year she said she was considering increasing the standard payments offered to migrants. The Home Office insists the scheme is not a handout but a pragmatic tool to reduce the burden on the asylum system. A spokesperson said: “We save taxpayers millions of pounds by encouraging those here illegally to leave voluntarily. Our success in ramping up both forced and voluntary returns has seen this government return over 80,000 people.”

Conservative Attack: ‘Paying Them Off’

The Conservatives, however, have seized on the figures as evidence that Labour is avoiding the hard choices needed to secure the border. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp was blunt in his criticism: “Labour are paying illegal immigrants to leave instead of stopping them arriving in the first place. Just 7 per cent of small boat arrivals have been returned since the election, and only a fraction of failed asylum seekers are ever removed. None of this will change while Labour refuse to touch the welfare system and the feeble asylum rules that let illegal immigrants stay.”

Mr Philp added that a future Conservative government would end the scheme entirely. “Our borders plan would ensure illegal immigrants could all be forcibly deported, meaning there would be no need to pay them off,” he said. The Tory position reflects a broader political strategy to paint Labour as soft on immigration, despite the party’s efforts to project competence on border control. The shadow home secretary’s reference to the welfare system points to a long-standing Conservative argument that the UK’s generous benefits and asylum rules act as a pull factor for illegal migration.

The Cost of the Scheme: £83.6m Since 2021

The scale of the spending goes beyond the current government. In total, since 2021 the Home Office has paid £83.6 million to contractor Prepaid Payment Solutions for voluntary assisted returns, according to invoices analysed by government procurement experts Tussell. That money covers not only the payments to migrants but also the provision of prepaid cards, their functionality abroad, and a monitoring system to track how the funds are spent. The reliance on a single contractor for such a sensitive programme raises questions about oversight and value for money, though the Home Office maintains the system is robust.

Nearly half of those accepted for the scheme last year were Brazilian nationals, according to Home Office data. This reflects a pattern of returns to countries with which the UK has strong diplomatic and economic ties, where voluntary departure is seen as a less contentious option than forced removal. The scheme is not limited to small boat arrivals; it applies to anyone without the right to remain in the UK, including overstayers and failed asylum seekers.

Campaigners Welcome ‘Humane’ Approach

Not all responses have been critical. The Refugee Council, a UK charity supporting refugees and people seeking asylum, has welcomed the use of voluntary returns, arguing that it treats people with dignity and is far less expensive than forcing individuals into detention or onto deportation flights. Imran Hussain, the charity’s director of external affairs, said: “We know that if people have proper time and support while making these life-changing decisions, they are much more likely to engage with the Home Office through this kind of voluntary returns process. A humane returns process must also be part of a wider fair and controlled asylum system that treats people with dignity. That is how the government can restore public confidence: by ensuring that people who need our help can rebuild their lives and integrate into their new communities, while others can be supported to return home voluntarily if it is safe for them to do so.”

This endorsement is significant, as it provides the government with cover against accusations that the scheme is inhumane. However, it also highlights a tension within Labour’s approach: the party has promised to be tough on illegal migration while maintaining a humanitarian veneer. The voluntary returns programme allows ministers to claim progress on removals without the political and legal complications of mass deportations.

Political and Practical Limits

Despite the increased spending, the numbers remain modest relative to the scale of the challenge. The Home Office has returned over 80,000 people since Labour took office, but the Conservatives point out that only a fraction of failed asylum seekers are ever removed. The government’s own figures show that small boat arrivals continue to place pressure on the asylum system, and the voluntary returns scheme, while expanded, is not a silver bullet. The pilot offering £40,000 to 150 families is, if implemented fully, a relatively small intervention, and it remains unclear whether it will be rolled out more widely.

The political calculus is delicate. Ms Mahmood is walking a tightrope between Labour’s traditional support for humane treatment of migrants and the public’s demand for controlled borders. The £40 million figure, while significant, is dwarfed by the overall cost of the asylum system, which runs into billions. Yet the optics of paying migrants to leave are politically fraught, particularly in a climate where immigration remains a top concern for voters. The Home Secretary’s argument that voluntary returns save money is technically sound, but it does little to address the Conservative charge that Labour is managing the symptoms rather than the cause.

What Happens Next

The government is expected to continue expanding the assisted returns programme, with further pilots and potentially higher payments under consideration. The Home Office has not yet published the April figures, and it is unclear how many migrants took up the offer in that month. The re-entry ban, which prevents those who accept the scheme from returning to the UK for a set period, is designed to deter abuse, but its enforcement is not guaranteed. The Conservatives have pledged to scrap the scheme if they return to power, though their own record in office saw the programme continue and, in some periods, expand.

For now, the debate is set to intensify as Parliament returns from recess. The Home Secretary will face questions about the value for money of the £40,000 family pilot, and the opposition will continue to press on the low rate of returns for small boat arrivals. The Refugee Council’s endorsement provides some cover, but the political risk for Labour is clear: every pound spent on voluntary returns is a pound the Conservatives can use to argue that the government is paying people to leave rather than stopping them from coming. The coming months will test whether Ms Mahmood’s strategy can hold.

This article was produced with AI-assisted research and editorial support. Sources: The Independent (exclusive reporting, 21 August 2026).

By Erica Thornton, Staff Writer