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Hillingdon Council has successfully lobbied government to refund the cost of supporting arrivals of Chagossian UK nationals in 2024/25 but is calling for clarity on how this will be funded this financial year and in future.
Many families arrive via Heathrow Airport without onward travel plans and require housing support from the council, which it provides as part of its statutory responsibilities.
In the 2024/25 financial year, 53 families and 184 individuals arrived requiring support, at a cost of more than £500,000 to the council.
The grant funding received from government will largely cover these costs and comes after the council repeatedly asked government to recognise the pressures and costs it was facing because of being a port authority.
Prior to this, the council had only been permitted to claim for its costs for the first 10 days after their arrival.
Future funding, however, remains uncertain, with the cost to the council of supporting Chagossian arrivals expected to rise to around £2.6 million this financial year.
No indication has been given, at this stage, when the council will be able to submit a claim for a refund for its costs this year, or any guarantee that the money will be reimbursed promptly. Since 1 April 2025 to date, the council has supported a further 143 families and 553 individuals.
Cllr Ian Edwards, Leader of Hillingdon Council, said: “While the funding we have received is welcome, our residents have, in effect, had to fund this national responsibility, and then wait months for any reimbursement from the government.
“This remains an unfair financial burden which should have never been placed on local taxpayers in the first place. This is creating additional financial pressures, alongside the council's asylum responsibilities, at a time when there are already significant demands on council services. It is also against a backdrop of significant council underfunding for a number of years by government and their new funding formula, which will not be received immediately, but phased across three years, doesn’t include all of our asylum responsibilities.
“The government needs to rethink its current approach of how it funds this responsibility and properly recognise our unique position as a port authority, the challenges that are associated with that, and provide the funding we require in a timely manner.”