Millions Owed to Government by Asylum Housing Firms Amid Soaring Profits

[Social Media]

 

Millions Owed to Government by Asylum Housing Firms Amid Soaring Profits

 

Three private companies contracted to house asylum seekers in the UK have failed to repay the government tens of millions of pounds in excess profits, despite contractual obligations requiring them to do so. Executives from Serco, Clearsprings Ready Homes, and Mears admitted to a parliamentary committee that they have not yet made any payments to the Home Office, even though their profits have exceeded agreed limits.

 

 

During a session of the Commons Home Affairs Committee, the companies were questioned about the growing cost of asylum accommodation and their compliance with the profit-sharing clauses in their government contracts. These contracts, signed in 2019, included stipulations that any profits above 5 per cent must be shared with the Home Office. However, none of the firms has fulfilled this obligation.

 

The National Audit Office recently disclosed that the ten-year deals with the three companies are now projected to cost taxpayers £15.3 billion—triple the original estimate by the Home Office. Since acquiring the asylum housing contracts, each company has reported record profits, with margins between 5 and 7 per cent.

 

Clearsprings Ready Homes currently owes the Home Office £32 million. Its managing director, Steve Lakey, said the company was ready to transfer the funds but had been waiting on a final audit. "The money was 'ready to go'," Lakey told MPs. Jason Burt, director of health and safety compliance at Mears, revealed his firm owes £13.8 million but has similarly delayed payment pending an audit.

 

Serco's representative, Claudia Sturt, director of immigration and prisons, was unable to specify how much her company owes but acknowledged that no payments had been made. Sturt estimated that Serco stands to earn £385 million over the duration of its contract, with a portion of that—“several million”—being subject to profit-sharing with the government.

 

As of December, government figures show that 109,882 asylum seekers were in taxpayer-funded accommodation across the UK, with 38,213 housed in hotels. Clearsprings had the largest share, providing hotel accommodation to 22,869 asylum seekers, primarily in the south of England. Lakey noted that his company plans to obtain 15,000 beds in more affordable, self-catered housing in communities to help reduce the number of migrants in costly hotel placements by around 40 per cent.

 

The executives said that the unanticipated surge in small boat arrivals had driven up operational costs. On one day alone, 601 migrants arrived on UK shores in ten boats, pushing the 2025 total to 12,407—nearly one-third higher than at the same point in 2024 and a record for this time of year.

 

Reacting to the figures, shadow home secretary Chris Philp criticised the Labour government’s handling of immigration. “On the very day Keir Starmer rolled out his feeble immigration white flag, 601 illegal migrants crossed the Channel, pushing 2025’s total past 12,000. 2025 so far has been the worst year in history for illegal immigrants crossing the Channel,” he said. “Labour made a catastrophic mistake by cancelling the Rwanda removals deterrent before it even started.

 

We have seen from Australia how this approach completely stopped illegal maritime crossings a decade or so ago.”

In response, the government has pledged to intensify efforts against people smuggling networks, including granting law enforcement agencies new powers modelled on those used for counterterrorism. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper stated that further reforms to border security and the asylum system will be unveiled later this summer.

 

A Home Office spokesperson reiterated the government’s commitment to curbing irregular migration: “We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security. That is why this government has put together a serious plan to take down these networks at every stage.”

 

Related Topic:

From Caravan Parks to a Billionaire’s Empire: The Rise of the UK’s 'Asylum King'

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Times  2025-05-16

 

 

[impulse]

5 hours ago, Social Media said:

The executives said that the unanticipated surge in small boat arrivals had driven up operational costs. On one day alone, 601 migrants arrived on UK shores in ten boats, pushing the 2025 total to 12,407—nearly one-third higher than at the same point in 2024 and a record for this time of year.

 

Seems to be going in the wrong direction.  What's up with that?

 

[JonnyF]

5 hours ago, Social Media said:

Three private companies contracted to house asylum seekers in the UK have failed to repay the government tens of millions of pounds in excess profits, despite contractual obligations requiring them to do so.

 

It seems it's not just private citizens who have lost all respect for Starmer's government. 

 

Failed state. 

[Red Forever]

The world is in a state of flux. Increasing numbers of people from drought and war torn countries will seek to settle in more (at present) temperate climes. Buckle up folks, the ride ain’t gonna get less bumpy.

In Europe the days of affordable housing and jobs for life have all but disappeared after 45 years of increasingly right wing governments. Governments that have been complicit in the rise of these parasitical companies such as Serco.

601 crossings yesterday?

Respect!