Currently, the UK offers payments of up to £3,000 for some migrants with no right to remain who agree to return home. Mahmood told BBC’s Political Thinking podcast that officials had been directed to “pilot a small programme” of increased payments to assess whether it changes behaviour.
“I haven’t alighted on the full sums involved yet, but I am willing to consider a big increase on what we currently pay,” she said. “I know it sticks in the craw of many people, but it is value for money, it does work, and a voluntary return is often the very best way to get people to return to their home country as quickly as possible.”
Criticism Over Payments
The voluntary return scheme has faced criticism in recent months. A migrant sex offender, mistakenly released from prison, was reportedly paid £500 to leave the UK in October. The Independent previously reported that the government has paid migrants £53 million to leave the country over the past four years.
Labour backbenchers have expressed strong reservations about Mahmood’s reforms, which are designed to deter asylum applications and make it easier to remove people with no right to remain.
Overhaul of the Asylum System
The Home Office describes the reforms, inspired by Denmark’s strict approach to migration, as “the biggest changes to the asylum system in modern times”. Mahmood emphasised that the government could not cede discussion of migration issues to the far right, rejecting praise from activist Tommy Robinson.
“If mainstream politics cannot have a discussion about secure borders and the rules by which people enter and leave this country… and we cede it all to the far right, then we have let our country down,” she said.
Mahmood also criticised MPs quoting Robinson in Parliament, calling it “deeply offensive” and highlighting that his views are rooted in prejudice against her as a Muslim.
Next Steps
The Home Secretary said she is committed to reviewing the voluntary return scheme and piloting increased payments. She also dismissed suggestions from Reform UK that she was adopting their language, saying: “They’re making mischief, but it’s me that’s living now rent-free in their heads because I’m a politician willing to acknowledge a problem and have the solutions needed to fix it.”
The pilot programme will test whether higher payments encourage more voluntary returns and will form part of a wider overhaul of the UK’s asylum and immigration system.
