THE government will ban asylum seekers from using taxis for medical appointments from February, following a BBC investigation that uncovered long and costly journeys arranged at public expense.
The BBC reported earlier this year that some asylum seekers living in hotels had been sent in taxis for appointments many miles away.
One man said he was taken on a 250-mile round trip to see a GP, costing the Home Office £600. Following the report, ministers launched an urgent review into how transport was being used.
The Home Office has now confirmed it has been spending an average of £15.8 million a year on transport for asylum seekers.
The broadcaster previously found that asylum seekers were given a bus pass for one return trip a week. But for other essential travel, such as medical visits, taxis were used as a default option.
One taxi driver said that his company did up to 15 trips a day from a hotel in south-east London to a GP two miles away — costing around £1,000 a day.
Another driver, who gave his name as Steve, said firms sometimes inflated costs by sending taxis from distant areas for short journeys. He added that he was once sent from Gatwick Airport to Reading — more than 100 miles — to drive an asylum seeker to a dentist only 1.5 miles away. He said he often drove 275 miles a day, “half of which was without a passenger”.
He added that some journeys were pointless. “I'd be sitting there and [would be told] ‘don’t worry, they don’t wanna go’. It just logistically wasn’t thought out very well and I think it was left open to abuse,” he was quoted as saying.
Responding to these reports, home secretary Shabana Mahmood said the system would now be tightened. “I am ending the unrestricted use of taxis by asylum seekers for hospital appointments, authorising them only in the most exceptional circumstances,” she was quoted as saying. “I will continue to root out waste as we close every single asylum hotel.”
Taxis will still be allowed for people with physical disabilities, chronic illness or pregnancy-related needs, but these must be approved by the Home Office.
The rule change comes as ministers renew efforts to phase out asylum hotels, but the scale of the challenge remains significant. Figures published this week show that 36,273 people are still living in hotel accommodation — an increase since June.
New plans to move asylum seekers into large military sites have also slowed. The Home Office has delayed sending people to Crowborough army camp in East Sussex and Cameron Barracks in Inverness, saying it wants to avoid “unsafe and chaotic situations”.
Both sites remain under review, and officials say they will only open once “fully operational and safe”.
Local councils in both areas have raised concerns about pressure on services, the potential for protests, and community safety.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp criticised ministers, saying Labour “can’t get a grip on the illegal immigration crisis”, and claimed costs were rising because the government lacked “the backbone to take the tough decisions”.
