Asylum seekers banned from using taxis to attend medical appointments after taxpayers hit with £15million bill

Last year, it was revealed £15.8million was being spent each year on cab costs.

Shabana Mahmood launched an urgent review after the findings emerged. And today, the ban on the taxpayer-funded taxis comes into effect.

"I have ended the wasteful use of taxis for medical appointments to protect the taxpayer's purse," the Home Secretary told the BBC.

"I will stop at nothing to remove the incentives that draw illegal migrants to Britain to restore order and control to our borders."

Under new rules, taxi transport will now be restricted to specific cases, including disability, serious illness or pregnancy.

Each taxi journey will also require authorisation from Government officials.

The new restrictions come as Labour continues to grapple with asylum costs.

A report this week revealed 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.

Responding to the findings, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “This is a catastrophic waste of money.

"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."

The Government has pledged to end the use of asylum hotels by 2029.

Latest Home Office figures show the number of asylum seekers being temporarily housed in hotels increased by 13 per cent to 36,273 at the end of September.

As part of plans to stop using asylum hotels, Labour has turned to former military barracks, including Crowborough training camp in East Sussex, to house migrants.

The first group of migrants were moved into the site last month, despite opposition from residents and the local authority.