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Asylum seekers banned from using taxis for most medical trips
The UK government will restrict taxi use for asylum seekers’ medical trips to cut annual transport costs averaging £15.8 million, with exemptions for disabilities and pregnancy.
- From February, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced asylum seekers will be banned from using taxis for medical appointments in the United Kingdom.
- Following a BBC investigation, officials found widespread taxi use, including a 250-mile GP journey costing the Home Office £600, amid the Home Office's transport spending of around £15.8 million per year.
- Taxi drivers told the BBC the system was open to `abuse`, with subcontractor transport firms dispatching drivers from Gatwick and Heathrow for 1.5-mile appointments and doing up to 15 daily drop-offs from a south‑east London hotel to a nearby surgery.
- Ministers want asylum seekers to use alternatives like public transport to save taxpayer money, with exemptions for people with physical disabilities, chronic illnesses and pregnancy, and all taxi journeys requiring Home Office approval.
- The change forms part of a wider overhaul announced earlier this month, affecting about 36,273 people in asylum hotels and including temporary refugee status and the government's pledge to stop hotel use by 2029 with large military sites as alternatives.
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StvGovernment bans asylum seekers from taking taxis to medical appointments
·London, United Kingdom
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources13
Leaning Left2Leaning Right3Center3Last UpdatedBias Distribution38% Center, 37% Right
Bias Distribution
- 38% of the sources are Center, 37% of the sources lean Right
38% Center
L 25%
C 38%
R 37%
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