Home Office warns end of Afghan scheme risks more small boats
The potential decision by desperate Afghans forced to flee the Taliban by illegal means would result in 'wider costs' to taxpayers, the explanatory memorandum to a statement of changes to the immigration rules outlines.
There was a deliberate choice to end the schemes with 'no notice' to 'prevent a spike in last-minute applications and mitigate against an increase to the backlog of outstanding applications', officials admitted.
Ministers were accused by campaigners on Tuesday of 'perverse' treatment of Afghans after the government abruptly ended the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) for those who had helped Britain to fight the Taliban.
The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), designed to help vulnerable people and those who assisted British efforts in Afghanistan to legally come to safety in Britain, was also closed.
Campaigners said the applicants had no warning that the schemes would cease to exist at 3pm on Tuesday. The deadline for applications was buried in a 138-page Home Office statement of changes to the immigration rules published on the same day.
Now it has emerged in an explanatory note that there is a risk that the closure of Arap will merely displace applications from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to the Home Office, either in the form of asylum claims, considerations for leave outside the rules or other applications on family and human rights grounds.
'Similarly, there is a risk that eligible individuals will remain at risk or will seek to use irregular routes, including small boats, following the closure of Arap,' the paper says. 'The latter would result in wider costs to government. However, it is not currently possible to estimate these potential impacts.'
• Migrant Channel crossings hit a record 20,000 in six months
It adds that the MoD had received 13,000 principal applications since October and that applications were still being received.
'The impact of the closure of the scheme with no notice period will prevent a spike in last-minute applications and mitigate against an increase to the backlog of outstanding applications that need to be considered for eligibility by the MoD,' the paper says.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
21 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Wealth taxes and rent controls: what backbenchers want next
Days after Sir Keir Starmer was reported to be ready to block a wealth tax, pressure has mounted from Labour's union paymasters to bring in a such a levy. Lord Kinnock said the party was 'willing to explore' it. It is the latest humiliating signal that the Prime Minister has lost control of the Cabinet after his hand was forced on welfare. Sir Keir had to offer 11th hour concessions just 90 minutes before the vote last week, meaning his flagship legislation will no longer save £5bn. The backbenchers now know the power they wield. Alongside a wealth tax, they are eyeing up policies including scrapping the two-child benefit cap and introducing rent controls. Mike Warburton, The Telegraph's tax expert, said: 'The Government is unfortunately in a financial hole of its own making. It has become clear that the ministers are in hock to their backbenchers in attempting to make any meaningful cuts in spending. Tax rises are now inevitable.' Telegraph Money outlines the potential targets: Wealth tax A wealth tax has long been coveted by certain members of the Labour party. It is applied to the total value of an individual's assets, such as property, investments and savings. Rachael Maskell, MP for York Central who led the backbench rebellion on welfare, said the Government should 'scope out' how a wealth tax would work. 'We need to make the case that paying tax is good,' she added. Experts are anticipating tax increases to hit the highest earners. William Stevens, head of wealth management at Killik & Co, said: '[The Government] remains plagued by exceptionally limited fiscal headroom – put simply, the Government needs to raise money, and it's running out of avenues. 'Tax is ultimately the way to do that – both on the surface and by stealth.' Andy McDonald, MP for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East, was one of the 49 MPs who still voted against the welfare Bill last week. He told The Telegraph: 'I've made a case for the last six months for wealth taxes. I'll continue to do so in the next six months because it's right.' He has proposed a 2pc tax on assets of more than £10m, which is an idea being pushed by the Patriotic Millionaires UK. 'It is the broadest shoulders argument. 'Distributed to each according to his need.' That's not Marx, it's the Bible,' Mr McDonald said. Labour has pledged not to raise taxes for 'working people', and promised not to increase VAT, income tax or National Insurance in its manifesto. Freezing tax thresholds for additional rate taxpayers In May, Angela Rayner sent a memo to Rachel Reeves with 10 proposals for raising revenue. One of the suggestions in the leaked note was freezing the additional rate income tax threshold. The memo said: 'Continuing to freeze the additional rate threshold in case terms rather than uprating it with inflation from April 2028 could raise revenue and would be consistent with the manifesto.' The additional rate of income tax, 45pc, applies to income above £125,140. Ms Reeves has already refused to 'stand by the commitment' to end a freeze on income tax thresholds from 2028. She failed to rule out imposing a stealth tax on workers in October, instead referencing the '£22bn black hole in the public finances'. It means millions more households could be dragged into higher tax brackets. Stretching out the freeze on tax thresholds would also result in more retirees paying tax on the state pension. And while the Chancellor last year said she is 'not coming back with more borrowing or more taxes,' she may be left with little choice. After all, Ms Rayner was 'instrumental' in getting Sir Keir to gut his welfare Bill, The Telegraph understands, holding hours of crucial talks with Labour MPs. It means Ms Reeves may also be forced to listen to Ms Rayner when it comes to the looming Budget. Equalising capital gains tax Ahead of the last Budget, there were fears that the Chancellor would uprate capital gains tax in line with income tax. Instead, the rates rose from 10pc to 18pc for basic-rate taxpayers, and from 20pc to 24pc for higher-rate taxpayers. But the idea has gained traction again, with Mr McDonald suggesting it would be a viable way of balancing the books. Ms Maskell also told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme last week that a wealth tax or equalising capital gains could raise £24bn. Scrapping the two-child benefit cap The next policy that MPs will set their sights on is scrapping the two-child benefit cap. The cap prevents parents from claiming Universal Credit or child tax credit for more than two children. It was introduced by the Conservative Party in 2017. Speculation has been mounting that Labour will lift the cap after Nigel Farage, Reform UK's leader, called for it to be axed. Ms Maskell told The Telegraph: 'We need more positive intervention in politics, and should be investing to save money.' Last year, seven MPs had the whip suspended for six months after voting against the Government on an SNP amendment to reverse the cap. John McDonnell, the former shadow chancellor, was joined by Richard Burgon, Ian Byrne, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Imran Hussain, Apsana Begum and Zarah Sultana in rebelling. The End Child Poverty Coalition has found that reversing the cap would lift 250,000 children out of poverty. Rent control Landlords could be facing another blow under Labour if backbenchers call for further rent control. Ms Maskell said a quarter of her constituency lives in private rentals. She told The Telegraph: 'Rents are absolutely extortionate, and people are trapped in poverty. If we introduce caps on rent, the Government will also save money on the housing allowance.' Yet the move could backfire on renters and landlords, as has been the case in Scotland. In 2022, Nicola Sturgeon, former first minister, froze rent increases for six months before capping them at 3pc. But the cost of a one-bedroom flat surged by more than 20pc after it was introduced, according to Scotland's largest estate agent DJ Alexander. This was because landlords could still raise rents between tenancies. John Blackwood, of the Scottish Landlord Association, previously told The Telegraph that increased rent restrictions were the biggest concern. He said: 'Historically, lots of landlords haven't increased rent mid-tenancy, and have used the void period between lets to carry out improvements and reset the rent to market value. 'Landlords are concerned that without this option to reset rents to market value between tenancies, their properties will become increasingly unviable as costs increase at a faster rate than they can raise rents.' Landlords are already facing an increasingly hostile environment under Labour, after Ms Reeves increased stamp duty on buy-to-lets from 3pc to 5pc overnight in October. The Renters' Rights Bill is set to end fixed-term tenancies, prevent action being taken against non-paying tenants for up to three months and ban bidding wars. A third of landlords are now looking to sell off some or all of their rental properties, according to the latest English Private Landlord Survey.
The Independent
35 minutes ago
- The Independent
Stormont urged to remove ‘cruel clause' in mother and baby homes Bill
Stormont has been urged to remove a 'cruel clause' that 'writes out' thousands of women, girls and their children in a mother and baby homes Bill. Campaigners, including survivors of the homes run by the Catholic Church, religious orders, some Protestant denominations as well as the State, and relatives, gathered at Parliament Buildings on Monday. More than 14,000 women and girls are thought to have passed through the institutions, with many found to have been mistreated, held against their will and forced to give up their children for adoption. The Inquiry (Mother and Baby Institutions, Magdalene Laundries and Workhouses) and Redress Scheme Bill was introduced at the Assembly earlier this year, and is being scrutinised by the Executive Office Committee. The Bill is to establish a statutory public inquiry and a statutory redress scheme, with a payment of £10,000 to be made to eligible claimants, and a £2,000 payment to eligible family members on behalf of a loved one who has died since September 29 2011. Adele Johnston, of Birthmothers and their Children for Justice NI, described the 2011 cut-off date as 'cruel'. 'On one hand we are pleased we have finally got as far as the legislation being written but there needs to be a lot of work done to make it acceptable to victims and survivors,' she said. 'There are a lot of aspects that need to be discussed and hopefully amended. 'We are quite hopeful going forward, but it all depends on their decisions at the end of the day. 'It's been a long, long campaign, and a long, hard campaign, jumping through hoops, meeting ministers, baring our souls to the public. It's not easy. 'But with one cruel clause in the Bill, they have written out thousands of women, girls and their children. 'The 2011 date for posthumous claims is utterly unacceptable and we will continue to fight that.' Roisin and Lisa Morris were among those who attended Stormont on Monday. Their mother Madeline Morris was sent to the Marianville Mother and Baby Home on the Ormeau Road in south Belfast when she was 18, after becoming pregnant, and forced to give her baby up for adoption. Mrs Morris died in 1992, and the Bill as it is currently written will not recognise her. 'That's why we're here today,' Roisin Morris said, adding that they had not found out what happened to their mother until her first child came searching for her last year. Lisa Morris said: 'As things stand at the minute, our mummy won't be recognised, and it's very unfair, so we're going to be her voice.'
BBC News
40 minutes ago
- BBC News
Nigel Farage calls for cuts to Kent's school transport spending
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has described Kent County Council's spending on home to school transport as "beyond belief", suggesting funding should be removed from some his first visit to County Hall in Maidstone since the party took over the council in May, he said the authority was "going to save a lot of money" through its Department of Government Efficiency (Doge). He said: "There are things called parents who for as long as modern times remember have had the aggravation of getting their kids to school." Farage's visit was part of a tour of authorities that Reform UK won at the local elections. The party took control of Kent County Council on 2 May, wiping out the Conservative majority after nearly 30 UK's Doge was launched in Maidstone in June, designed to identify areas where councils can save party would not be drawn on how much Kent would be looking to save or which budgets, though Linden Kemkaran, council leader, told the BBC it would be "in the millions".She said: "I've always said from day one I would ask awkward questions."Cutting the budget for home to school transport was a subject the party was keen to talk the council spends £98m per year on school transport, according to Reform UK. Children are eligible for that if they are over eight years old and living more than three miles (4.8km) from school, if they have special educational needs or are a family on a low said: "If you've got two kids living next door to each other getting separate taxis that is crazy."To have crept to a position where school transport is costing taxpayers almost £100m per year is unacceptable."He did say there would be exceptions for children with special educational authority has its first full meeting on Thursday and it is expected to announce the findings of its audit. The visit comes after news that James McMurdock, Reform UK MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock in Essex, resigned the party whip amid allegations that he took out government loans during the Covid-19 pandemic for businesses with no was keen to distance himself from the absence of candidate vetting processes for the 2024 general election, and said he "can't apologise" for said: "I came in, I inherited this situation where hundreds of candidates who stood in the last general election had not gone through a vetting process."The Reform UK leader did not answer when asked whether the allegations faced by McMurdock were an embarrassment for his party."Let's find out the truth, I know as much about this right now as you do," he reporting by PA Media.
