Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost of Aspen cards was to the public purse in each of the last five years.

The Home Office has a statutory obligation to provide accommodation and other support to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute.

The Home Office publishes information on asylum expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts at HO annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab).

Prior to 2023/24 asylum support costs were not published separately.