Britain has wasted more than £38 billion ($51 billion) on its welcoming schemes for migrants over the past decade, a report has found.
The programmes to adjust and integrate migrants had been “poorly co-ordinated and driven by a reactive crisis mentality”, Oxford's University’s Global Exchange on Migration and Diversity research project found.
The Future of Welcoming in the UK report disclosed that the overall costs of supporting newcomer communities from 2014 to 2024 totalled £20 billion over 26 funding streams, but came to £38 billion when adjusted for inflation.
This major overspend came from finding accommodation for asylum seekers who had fled Afghanistan, Syria, Hong Kong and Ukraine.
The report was critical that after “front-end welcoming” during the first months after entering the UK, there was “little focus on longer term integration” that included broader community consent for migration.
Migrant communities were targeted by hard-right anti-immigration groups in Britain last summer with a series of riots that shocked the country.
It was therefore important for the British government to understand that welcoming schemes support “continuing local consent for migration, which is vital for mitigating tensions”, the report said.
It also highlighted that migration brought both costs and economic benefits. It said a net increase in migration of 350,000 people would reduce the UK’s net borrowing by £7.4 billion by 2028.
The report proposed a new model for welcoming migrants, changing from a crisis-led provision to “proactive interventions to build up social infrastructure”.
“The sums that the UK has spent on asylum accommodation over the last decade are unnecessarily high, and this serves nobody well,” said Jacqueline Broadhead, director of the Global Exchange on Migration and Diversity.
“Better planning and organisation could have reduced this sum substantially … and helped the country to invest in a longer-term and more acceptable model.”
She argued that there is now an opportunity to improve the locations where migrants are hosted that “supports wider community cohesion and consent for migration”.
“Sensible investment in welcoming has a genuine and positive impact for new arrivals,” she added.
There was a positive note that the Labour government had “taken several steps which address some of the issues highlighted in the report”, said the authors.
Essentials
The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Malaysia Airlines all fly direct from the UAE to Kuala Lumpur and on to Penang from about Dh2,300 return, including taxes.
Where to stay
In Kuala Lumpur, Element is a recently opened, futuristic hotel high up in a Norman Foster-designed skyscraper. Rooms cost from Dh400 per night, including taxes. Hotel Stripes, also in KL, is a great value design hotel, with an infinity rooftop pool. Rooms cost from Dh310, including taxes.
In Penang, Ren i Tang is a boutique b&b in what was once an ancient Chinese Medicine Hall in the centre of Little India. Rooms cost from Dh220, including taxes.
23 Love Lane in Penang is a luxury boutique heritage hotel in a converted mansion, with private tropical gardens. Rooms cost from Dh400, including taxes.
In Langkawi, Temple Tree is a unique architectural villa hotel consisting of antique houses from all across Malaysia. Rooms cost from Dh350, including taxes.
RESULTS
2pm: Maiden Dh 60,000 (Dirt) 1,400m. Winner: Masaali, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer).
2.30pm: Handicap Dh 76,000 (D) 1,400m. Winner: Almoreb, Dane O’Neill, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
3pm: Handicap Dh 64,000 (D) 1,200m. Winner: Imprison, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly.
3.30pm: Shadwell Farm Conditions Dh 100,000 (D) 1,000m. Winner: Raahy, Adrie de Vries, Jaber Ramadhan.
4pm: Maiden Dh 60,000 (D) 1,000m. Winner: Cross The Ocean, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
4.30pm: Handicap 64,000 (D) 1,950m. Winner: Sa’Ada, Fernando Jara, Ahmad bin Harmash.
How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now
Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.
The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.
1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):
a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33
b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.
2. For those who have worked more than five years
c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.
Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.
