UK to ban taxi travel for asylum seekers attending medical appointments

Asylum seekers in the UK will be banned from using taxis for medical appointments from February, after it emerged the Home Office is spending about £15.8 million ($21 million) a year on the service, British media reported on Saturday.

Under new rules, those seeking asylum will be required to use alternative transport such as buses, regardless of the urgency of their medical needs.

Campaigners say the change will leave vulnerable people struggling to reach essential care unless the government reverses its long-standing refusal to provide free public transport.

Such journeys can occur when asylum seekers are moved to new areas while undergoing treatment, including chemotherapy.

Asylum seekers currently receive funding for one return bus journey per week.

In many regions, Home Office contractors routinely book taxis for additional travel, often at high cost.

One subcontractor in south-east London told the BBC his firm charged the Home Office about £1,000 a day for up to 15 short journeys from a hotel to a nearby GP surgery.

The government said taxis would now be "strictly limited to exceptional, evidenced cases," including people with physical disabilities, chronic illnesses, or pregnancy-related needs.

The Home Office will be required to approve such journeys in advance.

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, warned that "the threshold will be set too high," adding that inconsistent vulnerability assessments could leave people unable to access necessary care.

He said the high taxi bill reflected "government incompetence and poor contract management."

The Home Office said it would also tighten oversight of suppliers through audits and strengthen reporting rules.

The measures form part of a wider effort to cut waste in asylum accommodation and transport, which ministers say has already saved more than £74 million.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she is ending "the unrestricted use of taxis" and pledged to close all asylum hotels, moving people to alternative sites by the end of the parliament.