How is the cost calculated?
Each day's arrivals × £144 × days from arrival through 10 November 2026. This illustrative scenario produces £454.95 million. It assumes everyone remains in scope for the whole period; it does not measure actual spending.
What this number is not
It is not a verified government spending total, not a full asylum-system cost, not a legal-aid estimate, not an accommodation budget, and not a whole-economy calculation. It is a transparent on-page estimate using the £144-per-person-per-day assumption chosen for this satirical dashboard.
Why is this different from actual spending?
Actual costs depend on accommodation, time in the system and changes in individual circumstances. This model applies one flat daily assumption to every recorded arrival. It does not track departures, asylum decisions, accommodation changes or actual invoices. For that reason the result should not be described as a government bill.
Read more
See weekly arrivals, monthly arrivals, and yearly arrivals.