Getting a grip: How the Home Office should improve refugee and asylum seeker welfare and protect UK aid

Successive aid cuts, increased domestic use of the aid budget, and irresponsible financial management by the Home Office have significantly weakened the UK's stake as a major player on the world stage. In order to restore the UK's international position, the Minister for Development will need to be equipped with a fully functioning arsenal, and thus the Government must take urgent action to reign in Home Office use of critical aid funding. It is vital that we properly welcome and support refugees and asylum seekers coming to the UK, but current Home Office policies are creating a lose-lose situation which is bad for refugees, bad for people in low- and middle-income countries, and bad for the long-term security and prosperity of the UK. Diverting funding from the aid budget to meet Home Office costs only serves to compound the problems currently faced with regard to migration inflows, as overseas interventions help to address some of the root causes of forced displacement such as conflict, climate change and food insecurity.