The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the South East has published a report following its inquiry:
The South East and Migration: How best to manage the UK’s most populous region.
Leading up to the 2024 UK General Election, Labour’s manifesto pledged to reduce net migration and to tackle unauthorised ‘small boat crossings’. The new Labour Government would later publish its Migration White Paper on 12th May 2025.
APPG South East set out to provide, from a cross-party perspective, a compendium of useful and actionable insights from sector-experts across the region to inform and support decision-making in Government.
A Call for Evidence was shared with local authorities and constituency MPs in the South East, as well as public & civic bodies involved in managing migration services across the region including the Strategic Migration Partnership (SMP).
Two oral evidence sessions with invited speakers were held: the first in-person in Parliament on 26th March 2025, and the second online on 24th April 2025.
MP for Slough MP, Tan Dhesi, as Chair of APPG South East convened both sessions. Written evidence from over twenty organisations was submitted.
The inquiry heard that the lack of a comprehensive long-term strategy to manage the Asylum Seeker and Refugee system has contributed to a fragmented and layered approach to the management of Migration.
The estimated cost of £15.3 billion to run the Asylum system from 2019-2029 was seen to be excessive and built on a false economy.
Community tensions have been exacerbated, in part, as a result of failings in the Asylum system that have placed unnecessary strain on the availability and delivery of local authority services.
Next steps, whether working towards a new strategy or a place-based approach to asylum accommodation and resettlement are crucial.
Recommendation 1: Government should consult on a long-term national strategy for asylum, resettlement, and protection-based programmes with a timeframe of at least five years, including reform of NRPF, with a role for Strategic Migration Partnerships (SMPs) to set out regional plans and local authorities considering appropriate delivery at the local level.
Recommendation 2: There should be an independent evaluation of the pilot for place-based asylum accommodation to determine next steps.
Recommendation 3: Government should open the legal bottleneck in First and Upper-Tier immigration tribunals to speed up decision-making on asylum claims to cut the legal backlog and associated costs.
Recommendation 4: Government should seize the opportunity for targeted, low cost “frugal innovations” that can be implemented at pace with minimal disruption.
Recommendation 5: Government should review its medium-term options to end the use of “asylum hotels” including allowing the procurement of housing through local authorities.
Recommendation 6: Government should consult with local authorities and SMPs on transitioning to a place-based asylum system, including on adequate funding.
Recommendation 7: As the English Devolution agenda rolls out, the role, experience and expertise of regional Strategic Migration Partnerships should be recognised, with SMPs secured from political upheaval and disruption.
Read the full report here.
Notes
- This report was researched and funded by South East Councils. This is not an official publication of the House of Commons or House of Lords. It has not been approved by either House or its committees. All-Party Parliamentary Groups are informal groups of members of both Houses with a common interest in particular issues. The views expressed in this report are those of the Group.
- South East Councils (SEC) is a voluntary association with most councils in the South East region as members and is the Secretariat for the South East APPG.
- The South East APPG’s Secreteriat is available via email on
