The U.K. will be prevented from diverting billions from its aid budget to pay the domestic costs of asylum-seekers because of a new law cracking down on new arrivals, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD, has indicated.
In 2022, the country spent £3.7 billion — making up 29% of its overseas development assistance budget — domestically, exploiting OECD rules that allow the allocation of refugees’ hotel and other bills as ODA for 12 months. This triggered fierce criticism from aid groups and experts.
But a new Illegal Migration Act, passed earlier in July, bans anyone arriving without permission from applying for asylum, allowing them to be detained and deported instead.