Labour has spent almost £40m since taking power in July 2024 on a scheme that pays migrants with no right to remain in the UK up to £3,000 each to voluntarily return to their home country, according to Home Office figures obtained by The Independent. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood argues the assisted voluntary returns programme represents good value for taxpayers because it is far cheaper than housing asylum seekers in hotels or carrying out forced deportations, and the government has significantly expanded its use as part of a wider push to raise removal numbers.

Some 17,346 migrants took up the offer by March this year at a cost of £35.7m, with a further £4m spent in April, up sharply from 6,410 returns costing £24.2m under the previous Conservative government in a comparable period. The Home Office says the average assisted return costs £4,000 including flights, compared with £48,000 for a forced removal and £158,000 a year to house a family in an asylum hotel; a pilot scheme launched in March also offers 150 families up to £40,000 to leave. Nearly half of those accepted last year were Brazilian, and participants face a re-entry ban. The Conservatives criticised the policy as "paying them off" rather than preventing illegal arrivals, while groups such as the Refugee Council welcomed it as a more dignified and cheaper alternative to detention or forced deportation.