Shabana Mahmood, the UK’s Home Secretary, has announced a new pilot scheme that will pay some migrant families up to £40,000 to leave the UK voluntarily, as part of a larger overhaul of the country’s migration system.

The proposal allows up to 150 migrants, including children, to receive £10,000 per person, with a maximum payment of £40,000 per family, if they agree to leave Britain within seven days. Mahmood stated that the increased incentive would be provided to failed asylum seekers and that the policy could reduce the cost of supporting migrants who remain in the country.

“Failed asylum seekers will now be offered an increased incentive payment of £10,000 per person, and up to a maximum of £40,000 per family,” she said while outlining the reforms in Westminster. “To put that in important context, today, a family of three asylum hotel accommodation costs up to £158,000 per year.”

“Should these incentives prove effective, they will represent a significant saving to the taxpayer.” She added that migrants who refuse voluntary removal could face enforced deportation. “Where a voluntary removal is refused, we will escalate to an enforced removal for those who can be returned to their safe home country,” she said.

The announcement forms part of a wider migration crackdown being introduced by the government of Keir Starmer. Mahmood said the reforms aim to balance compassion with stronger border control measures. “At the same time as showing generosity, we must wrest control over migration back from the smugglers and restore order and control at our border,” she said.

The policy has already sparked debate within the governing Labour Party, with more than 100 Labour MPs reportedly signing a letter urging the prime minister to reconsider parts of the migration crackdown.

Mahmood acknowledged the tensions within the party but defended the reforms. “Of course, we should be more Labour. The real question is, what does more Labour mean.