The NHS is funded by working people who pay tax and national insurance, which means the people who don't work, get it for free. Prescriptions cost the same people who work £9.90 an item....but only 10% of people pay. The other 90% are subsidised in part by the ones who pay.
Well yes I know that but everyone still refers to the NHS as free. Working people pay for all public services ., That's self evident.
I still pay National Insurance or stamp duty I believe it's called. But I still consider the NHS as free and private healthcare as something people pay for. When I was working I considered the NHS free and private healthcare something people pay for. I think most people see it that way but maybe that's just my outlook because I'm currently not working.
Most people consider the NHS to be a free service, it was advertised as that from the start.
"The National Health Service (NHS) was established as a result of the 1944 White Paper, A National Health Service.
It set out the two guiding principles. Firstly, that such a service should be comprehensive, with all citizens receiving all the advice, treatment and care they needed, combined with the best medical and other facilities available. Secondly, that the service should be free to the public at the point of use."
But obviously it's paid for by someone...and working people's tax and NI go towards it's upkeep.
The problem is, there are too few people paying and too many using. Many use it who have never contributed a penny to it's upkeep. The whole NHS needs to be rethought about, because the way it's going, it will become useless.
No. Never change the NHS, change the people able to claim it. It deserves more funding. The Tories starved it if essential funding for a decade because they want to privatise it. And it would be a crying shame to let the billionaires profit off people's lives.
The NHS really did used to be the envy of the world. before it was underfunded. In America people pass away because they can't afford medical treatment or the price of the ambulance . That's what Reform and other right wing parties want and personally I don't.
No offence to Madders but the American healthcare system is immoral to me. People shouldn't have to have huge medical.bills or lose their house if they suddenly become unwell and need surgery.
Labour need to fund the NHS and concentrate on the cost of living but they are unable to because Brexit has allowed too many immigrants to live here. I agree, it has to stop and soon.
Nobody is losing their house over medical bills..
We have had this discussion multiple times. You should know better by now..
Why don't you?
Digger said
Oct 25 5:42 PM, 2025
Fluffy wrote:
Digger wrote:
Fluffy wrote:
you speak as though the NHS is free. it's not. it never has been. It's only free to those who don't pay into the system. The rest of us have to pay for those who don't.
Singapore and Japan have the best health systems in the world. Why?
Because Singapore has a system that combines mandatory savings accounts (MediSave), government subsidies, and public health campaigns.
Japan's healthy system is supported by a health-conscious culture. It also has culinary education to teach people about healthy eating habits from a young age.
Digs, people do not pay for life saving operations, medical treatment or doctors appointments on the NHS. That makes it free. Tbh I think most people view the NHS as free. It used to be the envy of the world before the Tories refused to pay doctors or provide it with any funding. Labour,Plaid, The Greens, and the Lib Dems would ensure the NHS remains free. Right wing parties can't profit from the NHS so they want to privatise it meaning costly medical treatment which many people can ill afford.
In Wales we also have our prescriptions free, I'm not sure if that extends to England and Scotland but I hope so.
Japan is in a terrible mess right now ,especially the economy. The youth are crumbling under the immense academic pressure put on them by their parents and many are not working. Big corporations that used to look after their workers for life with wage increases and promotions are forcing loyal workers into voluntary redundancy due to the declining economic structure.
Japan is such a weird and wonderful place though,I would love to visit one day.
Your prescriptions are not free. Monies are allocated from taxes to subsidise prescriptions in Wales and Scotland. just because England chooses not to syphon money into free prescriptions doesn't make it free.
What planet are you on?
Yes I know that. But people refer to them as free here because ..they don't pay for them.
It's similar to people obviously knowing taxpayers pay for the NHS and other public services but in everyday discourse (and previously on here )people generally refer to the NHS as free. Because the other option is private healthcare.which people have to pay for. I don't recall people being corrected before when they stated the NHS services are free.tbh.
Tax payers pay for them. There is no 'free'. You'll find I repeat that statement elsewhere in this forum because it's a form of ignorance that gets my goat.
Maddog said
Oct 25 6:09 PM, 2025
That word "free" is way overused.
Nothing the government does is free, and it's silly to use that word to describe things that obviously are paid for by the citizens.
Politicians like to use the word because it sounds like they are gifting things to people.
The reality is they confiscate part of your earnings and spend it on you in a manner they deem appropriate.
Syl said
Oct 25 6:23 PM, 2025
Maddog wrote:
That word "free" is way overused.
Nothing the government does is free, and it's silly to use that word to describe things that obviously are paid for by the citizens.
Politicians like to use the word because it sounds like they are gifting things to people.
The reality is they confiscate part of your earnings and spend it on you in a manner they deem appropriate.
Exactly. Which would work if everyone who could contribute did so.
I am beginning to think this country was better off when there were far fewer benefits paid out. People had to work to provide for themselves rather than wait to be handed benefits, and the obvious place to start now would be looking at people who have come here and either can't legally work (illegals) or don't want to., and you can include the home grown cradle to grave scroungers too.
At least back in the day you could see a Dr when you needed one, ambulances were not lined up outside hospitals with patients they can't unload, and corridors were not crammed with people who needed a hospital bed and couldn't get one.
Fluffy said
Oct 25 6:25 PM, 2025
Maddog wrote:
I've read about the isolated pockets of weird fuckers in Japan..
You don't understand the economic problems created by a declining population and low birthrate.
It's easy to fix the problems with young men not working.
Not making babies with women is a bit more difficult..
Maddog, I watched the video that you provided with Jordan Peterson, you could really return the courtesy.
Yes, shocking birth rates are occurring in Japan but that's a growing trend in the West also. There are other things contributing to Japan 's decline which are happening exclusively because of their work and social.cultures. Indeed Japan has the highest rate of male suicides globally.
So many men are jumping in front of trains that blue mood lighting has been installed with "calming music "to try and calm other passengers. Other desperate people take a different route out of Japan
.Over 100 thousand people per year decide to abandon their life under cover of darkness in a practice known as "Johatsu " meaning "evaporated people" This is the equivalent of a small city of people choosing to simply vanish and relocate to the slums of Osaka. They can no longer cope with the gruelling work hours, low pay and burnout.
Many people are required to work 16 hour days and business men are often found (and photographed) lying asleep on trains, in the street and on escalators,completely exhausted. This is due to a culture that you must give your life to your job and socialise with your boss in order to climb that executive ladder. This means accompanying your boss for drinks after work and it's considered bad manners to leave first and you must match them.drink for drink. These men are literally a common sight sprawled all over cities at 3am spark out.
Japan is very concerned with image and shame. Family matters must be kept within the family. Elderly mother's are supporting their 50,year old children, often male, who have also retreated from society but they blacken out their windows to show their shame. These are not "isolated weird fuckers" but hundreds of thousands of unemployed unmarried men due to high job losses.
This was all in the video and much more besides just to let you know that Japan may have low birth rates but that's only one of a myriad of problems the country currently contends with.
Fluffy said
Oct 25 6:27 PM, 2025
Maddog wrote:
That word "free" is way overused.
Nothing the government does is free, and it's silly to use that word to describe things that obviously are paid for by the citizens.
Politicians like to use the word because it sounds like they are gifting things to people.
The reality is they confiscate part of your earnings and spend it on you in a manner they deem appropriate.
But in everyday life and conversation people use the word most appropriate.
I do take your point though.
Fluffy said
Oct 25 6:37 PM, 2025
Digger wrote:
Fluffy wrote:
Digger wrote:
Fluffy wrote:
you speak as though the NHS is free. it's not. it never has been. It's only free to those who don't pay into the system. The rest of us have to pay for those who don't.
Singapore and Japan have the best health systems in the world. Why?
Because Singapore has a system that combines mandatory savings accounts (MediSave), government subsidies, and public health campaigns.
Japan's healthy system is supported by a health-conscious culture. It also has culinary education to teach people about healthy eating habits from a young age.
Digs, people do not pay for life saving operations, medical treatment or doctors appointments on the NHS. That makes it free. Tbh I think most people view the NHS as free. It used to be the envy of the world before the Tories refused to pay doctors or provide it with any funding. Labour,Plaid, The Greens, and the Lib Dems would ensure the NHS remains free. Right wing parties can't profit from the NHS so they want to privatise it meaning costly medical treatment which many people can ill afford.
In Wales we also have our prescriptions free, I'm not sure if that extends to England and Scotland but I hope so.
Japan is in a terrible mess right now ,especially the economy. The youth are crumbling under the immense academic pressure put on them by their parents and many are not working. Big corporations that used to look after their workers for life with wage increases and promotions are forcing loyal workers into voluntary redundancy due to the declining economic structure.
Japan is such a weird and wonderful place though,I would love to visit one day.
Your prescriptions are not free. Monies are allocated from taxes to subsidise prescriptions in Wales and Scotland. just because England chooses not to syphon money into free prescriptions doesn't make it free.
What planet are you on?
Yes I know that. But people refer to them as free here because ..they don't pay for them.
It's similar to people obviously knowing taxpayers pay for the NHS and other public services but in everyday discourse (and previously on here )people generally refer to the NHS as free. Because the other option is private healthcare.which people have to pay for. I don't recall people being corrected before when they stated the NHS services are free.tbh.
Tax payers pay for them. There is no 'free'. You'll find I repeat that statement elsewhere in this forum because it's a form of ignorance that gets my goat.
You have repeated it a lot since you discovered I am currently not working. I accept that's just a coincidence. We all have things that annoy us. But I have contributed my bit ,and am certainly not ashamed of it.
Anonymous said
Oct 25 7:23 PM, 2025
Fluffy wrote:
Yes I know that. But people refer to them as free here because ..they don't pay for them.
By 'here' do you mean Wales? Don't Welsh people pay income tax and national insurance?
Syl said
Oct 25 7:23 PM, 2025
Fluffy wrote:
Digger wrote:
Fluffy wrote:
Digger wrote:
Fluffy wrote:
you speak as though the NHS is free. it's not. it never has been. It's only free to those who don't pay into the system. The rest of us have to pay for those who don't.
Singapore and Japan have the best health systems in the world. Why?
Because Singapore has a system that combines mandatory savings accounts (MediSave), government subsidies, and public health campaigns.
Japan's healthy system is supported by a health-conscious culture. It also has culinary education to teach people about healthy eating habits from a young age.
Digs, people do not pay for life saving operations, medical treatment or doctors appointments on the NHS. That makes it free. Tbh I think most people view the NHS as free. It used to be the envy of the world before the Tories refused to pay doctors or provide it with any funding. Labour,Plaid, The Greens, and the Lib Dems would ensure the NHS remains free. Right wing parties can't profit from the NHS so they want to privatise it meaning costly medical treatment which many people can ill afford.
In Wales we also have our prescriptions free, I'm not sure if that extends to England and Scotland but I hope so.
Japan is in a terrible mess right now ,especially the economy. The youth are crumbling under the immense academic pressure put on them by their parents and many are not working. Big corporations that used to look after their workers for life with wage increases and promotions are forcing loyal workers into voluntary redundancy due to the declining economic structure.
Japan is such a weird and wonderful place though,I would love to visit one day.
Your prescriptions are not free. Monies are allocated from taxes to subsidise prescriptions in Wales and Scotland. just because England chooses not to syphon money into free prescriptions doesn't make it free.
What planet are you on?
Yes I know that. But people refer to them as free here because ..they don't pay for them.
It's similar to people obviously knowing taxpayers pay for the NHS and other public services but in everyday discourse (and previously on here )people generally refer to the NHS as free. Because the other option is private healthcare.which people have to pay for. I don't recall people being corrected before when they stated the NHS services are free.tbh.
Tax payers pay for them. There is no 'free'. You'll find I repeat that statement elsewhere in this forum because it's a form of ignorance that gets my goat.
You have repeated it a lot since you discovered I am currently not working. I accept that's just a coincidence. We all have things that annoy us. But I have contributed my bit ,and am certainly not ashamed of it.
Fluffy, don't take posts personally, they are not intended to be I am sure.
If people are unable to work either through health or circumstance, no one would expect them to. You really don't have to explain your own circumstances to anyone here, and you are as entitled to your opinion as everyone else is.
The USA does have people who are plunged into debt, often because of unexpected medical bills, at least here we have the option of using the NHS or if that's not deemed suitable, paying privately if we can afford it.
Maddog said
Oct 25 7:25 PM, 2025
Fluffy wrote:
Maddog wrote:
I've read about the isolated pockets of weird fuckers in Japan..
You don't understand the economic problems created by a declining population and low birthrate.
It's easy to fix the problems with young men not working.
Not making babies with women is a bit more difficult..
Maddog, I watched the video that you provided with Jordan Peterson, you could really return the courtesy.
Yes, shocking birth rates are occurring in Japan but that's a growing trend in the West also. There are other things contributing to Japan 's decline which are happening exclusively because of their work and social.cultures. Indeed Japan has the highest rate of male suicides globally.
So many men are jumping in front of trains that blue mood lighting has been installed with "calming music "to try and calm other passengers. Other desperate people take a different route out of Japan
.Over 100 thousand people per year decide to abandon their life under cover of darkness in a practice known as "Johatsu " meaning "evaporated people" This is the equivalent of a small city of people choosing to simply vanish and relocate to the slums of Osaka. They can no longer cope with the gruelling work hours, low pay and burnout.
Many people are required to work 16 hour days and business men are often found (and photographed) lying asleep on trains, in the street and on escalators,completely exhausted. This is due to a culture that you must give your life to your job and socialise with your boss in order to climb that executive ladder. This means accompanying your boss for drinks after work and it's considered bad manners to leave first and you must match them.drink for drink. These men are literally a common sight sprawled all over cities at 3am spark out.
Japan is very concerned with image and shame. Family matters must be kept within the family. Elderly mother's are supporting their 50,year old children, often male, who have also retreated from society but they blacken out their windows to show their shame. These are not "isolated weird fuckers" but hundreds of thousands of unemployed unmarried men due to high job losses.
This was all in the video and much more besides just to let you know that Japan may have low birth rates but that's only one of a myriad of problems the country currently contends with.
You probably shouldn't form your opinions of a country based on a single YouTube video.
Read
Read
Read
Syl said
Oct 25 7:27 PM, 2025
Anonymous wrote:
Fluffy wrote:
Yes I know that. But people refer to them as free here because ..they don't pay for them.
By 'here' do you mean Wales? Don't Welsh people pay income tax and national insurance?
They don't pay for prescriptions when they need them.
"NHS prescriptions are free for everyone living in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. In England, prescriptions are only free for those who meet specific criteria, such as being under 16, over 60, pregnant, receiving certain benefits, or having a medical exemption. "
Digger said
Oct 26 1:29 AM, 2025
Fluffy wrote:
You have repeated it a lot since you discovered I am currently not working. I accept that's just a coincidence. We all have things that annoy us. But I have contributed my bit ,and am certainly not ashamed of it.
Like Syl said, don't take it personally. The only reason I keep repeating it is because you keep repeating the misinformation that the NHS and prescriptions are free. It doesn't matter if everyone calls it free or thinks it's free, it's not. It never has been. And if everyone paying taxes decided to quit and claim benefits or suddenly got ill, then it probably wouldn't even exist.
It's like people who think they're getting a bargain when an item is marked Free Postage. There's rarely any such thing. You pay for it with a higher mark up.
Digger said
Oct 26 1:32 AM, 2025
Syl wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Fluffy wrote:
Yes I know that. But people refer to them as free here because ..they don't pay for them.
By 'here' do you mean Wales? Don't Welsh people pay income tax and national insurance?
They don't pay for prescriptions when they need them.
"NHS prescriptions are free for everyone living in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. In England, prescriptions are only free for those who meet specific criteria, such as being under 16, over 60, pregnant, receiving certain benefits, or having a medical exemption. "
I still had to pay for my prescriptions even though I had asthma. Which is a life threatening condition. But for some reason inhalers are exempt from being 'free' despite the fact that asthmatics can die without them.
Anonymous said
Oct 26 2:35 AM, 2025
Fluffy wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Magica wrote:
Syl wrote:
I get prescriptions free now (not that I have any unless ill) because I am an OAP. But apart from when pregnant, I have paid for them throughout my life, so does all my family. It used to really annoy me that most times if I needed a prescription, I would be the only one who ever seemed to hand money over. I have no idea how working aged, well dressed people get away with claiming free prescriptions in England, but it doesn't surprise me that figures show 90% get them free.
Same Syl, I saw many in front of me never paid when I had to. Scotland is free, why isn't England?
Unless you are on benefits, that's why they never paid. Illegals get them free as well grrrr.
There are a few “invisible” medical conditions that are eligible for free prescriptions, regardless of income.
Yeah, I get bloody angry too at the illegals, it’s not right.
All prescriptions are free in Wales for everybody as it happens. do consider it unfair that it doesn't happen for the English.
What invisible medical conditions would those be Guest? You have piqued my interest!
It might be “free” at the point of sale for you but someone, somewhere is footing the bill.
Syl said
Oct 26 10:34 AM, 2025
Digger wrote:
Syl wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Fluffy wrote:
Yes I know that. But people refer to them as free here because ..they don't pay for them.
By 'here' do you mean Wales? Don't Welsh people pay income tax and national insurance?
They don't pay for prescriptions when they need them.
"NHS prescriptions are free for everyone living in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. In England, prescriptions are only free for those who meet specific criteria, such as being under 16, over 60, pregnant, receiving certain benefits, or having a medical exemption. "
I still had to pay for my prescriptions even though I had asthma. Which is a life threatening condition. But for some reason inhalers are exempt from being 'free' despite the fact that asthmatics can die without them.
Yep, my DIL is the same. She wasn't even told she could pay for three or six months to save money, for years.
Anonymous said
Oct 26 6:42 PM, 2025
“I took a grooming gang leader to court, got his house, and the money from the house auction is going to one of his victims.”
‘The Home Office has "squandered" billions of pounds of taxpayers' money on asylum accommodation, according to a report by a committee of MPs.’
”The Home Affairs Committee said "flawed contracts" and "incompetent delivery" left the department unable to cope with a surge in demand and it relied on hotels as "go-to solutions" instead of temporary stop-gaps.
The MPs said expected costs had tripled to more than £15bn and not enough had been done to recoup excess profits.
A Home Office spokesperson said the government was "furious about the number of illegal migrants in this country and in hotels", and reiterated its pledge to end the use of asylum hotels by 2029.
The report said the current system for housing people seeking asylum - with its reliance on hotels - was expensive, unpopular with local communities and unsuitable for the asylum seekers themselves.
It said the contracts drawn up for accommodation providers under the Conservatives had been flawed and that "inadequate oversight" had meant failings went "unnoticed and unaddressed".
Expected costs for hotel contracts from 2019-2029 have risen from £4.5bn to £15.3bn, while two accommodation providers still owe millions in excess profits that the Home Office has not recovered, the report found.” https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr43ww32xx0o
meanwhile…
‘Health leaders are warning that NHS services and jobs in England will have to be cut unless up to £3bn more in funding is allocated to cover unexpected costs.
The NHS Confederation and NHS Providers, representing trusts and other health organisations, said in a joint statement that the cost of covering redundancies and strikes, along with paying more for medicines, was not included in the budget this year and will need extra cash from the Chancellor.” https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9934y423nzo
Digger said
Oct 28 3:13 PM, 2025
CCTV footage has captured the moment police tasered and arrested an Afghan national after a triple stabbing which left a 49-year-old dog walker dead in Uxbridge.
Police and ambulance crews were called to Midhurst Gardens at around 5pm on Monday where three victims were attacked.
The dog walker was treated at the scene but died, while a 45-year-old man suffered life-changing injuries. The third victim, a 14-year-old boy, sustained injuries which were not life-threatening or changing.
The Afghan, 22, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, the Metropolitan Police said today.
According to residents, a fight had broken out involving the Afghan, who was living as a lodger in the home of the 45-year-old.
After chasing two victims out the house, the 49-year-old man - who was walking his dog at the time - tried to intervene but was slashed across the neck, eyewitnesses said.
Nobody is losing their house over medical bills..
We have had this discussion multiple times. You should know better by now..
Why don't you?
Tax payers pay for them. There is no 'free'. You'll find I repeat that statement elsewhere in this forum because it's a form of ignorance that gets my goat.
Nothing the government does is free, and it's silly to use that word to describe things that obviously are paid for by the citizens.
Politicians like to use the word because it sounds like they are gifting things to people.
The reality is they confiscate part of your earnings and spend it on you in a manner they deem appropriate.
Exactly. Which would work if everyone who could contribute did so.
I am beginning to think this country was better off when there were far fewer benefits paid out. People had to work to provide for themselves rather than wait to be handed benefits, and the obvious place to start now would be looking at people who have come here and either can't legally work (illegals) or don't want to., and you can include the home grown cradle to grave scroungers too.
At least back in the day you could see a Dr when you needed one, ambulances were not lined up outside hospitals with patients they can't unload, and corridors were not crammed with people who needed a hospital bed and couldn't get one.
Maddog, I watched the video that you provided with Jordan Peterson, you could really return the courtesy.
Yes, shocking birth rates are occurring in Japan but that's a growing trend in the West also. There are other things contributing to Japan 's decline which are happening exclusively because of their work and social.cultures. Indeed Japan has the highest rate of male suicides globally.
So many men are jumping in front of trains that blue mood lighting has been installed with "calming music "to try and calm other passengers. Other desperate people take a different route out of Japan
.Over 100 thousand people per year decide to abandon their life under cover of darkness in a practice known as "Johatsu " meaning "evaporated people" This is the equivalent of a small city of people choosing to simply vanish and relocate to the slums of Osaka. They can no longer cope with the gruelling work hours, low pay and burnout.
Many people are required to work 16 hour days and business men are often found (and photographed) lying asleep on trains, in the street and on escalators,completely exhausted. This is due to a culture that you must give your life to your job and socialise with your boss in order to climb that executive ladder. This means accompanying your boss for drinks after work and it's considered bad manners to leave first and you must match them.drink for drink. These men are literally a common sight sprawled all over cities at 3am spark out.
Japan is very concerned with image and shame. Family matters must be kept within the family. Elderly mother's are supporting their 50,year old children, often male, who have also retreated from society but they blacken out their windows to show their shame. These are not "isolated weird fuckers" but hundreds of thousands of unemployed unmarried men due to high job losses.
This was all in the video and much more besides just to let you know that Japan may have low birth rates but that's only one of a myriad of problems the country currently contends with.
But in everyday life and conversation people use the word most appropriate.
I do take your point though.
You have repeated it a lot since you discovered I am currently not working. I accept that's just a coincidence. We all have things that annoy us. But I have contributed my bit ,and am certainly not ashamed of it.
Fluffy, don't take posts personally, they are not intended to be I am sure.
If people are unable to work either through health or circumstance, no one would expect them to. You really don't have to explain your own circumstances to anyone here, and you are as entitled to your opinion as everyone else is.
The USA does have people who are plunged into debt, often because of unexpected medical bills, at least here we have the option of using the NHS or if that's not deemed suitable, paying privately if we can afford it.
Suicide rates by country.
Japan is basically the same as the US.
Read
Read
Read
They don't pay for prescriptions when they need them.
"NHS prescriptions are free for everyone living in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. In England, prescriptions are only free for those who meet specific criteria, such as being under 16, over 60, pregnant, receiving certain benefits, or having a medical exemption. "
Like Syl said, don't take it personally. The only reason I keep repeating it is because you keep repeating the misinformation that the NHS and prescriptions are free. It doesn't matter if everyone calls it free or thinks it's free, it's not. It never has been. And if everyone paying taxes decided to quit and claim benefits or suddenly got ill, then it probably wouldn't even exist.
It's like people who think they're getting a bargain when an item is marked Free Postage. There's rarely any such thing. You pay for it with a higher mark up.
I still had to pay for my prescriptions even though I had asthma. Which is a life threatening condition. But for some reason inhalers are exempt from being 'free' despite the fact that asthmatics can die without them.
It might be “free” at the point of sale for you but someone, somewhere is footing the bill.
Yep, my DIL is the same. She wasn't even told she could pay for three or six months to save money, for years.
“I took a grooming gang leader to court, got his house, and the money from the house auction is going to one of his victims.”
https://x.com/NickBuckleyMBE/status/1982426987609399760
Brilliant. This should happen often. Love it!
‘ The Home Office has "squandered" billions of pounds of taxpayers' money on asylum accommodation, according to a report by a committee of MPs.’
”The Home Affairs Committee said "flawed contracts" and "incompetent delivery" left the department unable to cope with a surge in demand and it relied on hotels as "go-to solutions" instead of temporary stop-gaps.
The MPs said expected costs had tripled to more than £15bn and not enough had been done to recoup excess profits.
A Home Office spokesperson said the government was "furious about the number of illegal migrants in this country and in hotels", and reiterated its pledge to end the use of asylum hotels by 2029.
The report said the current system for housing people seeking asylum - with its reliance on hotels - was expensive, unpopular with local communities and unsuitable for the asylum seekers themselves.
It said the contracts drawn up for accommodation providers under the Conservatives had been flawed and that "inadequate oversight" had meant failings went "unnoticed and unaddressed".
Expected costs for hotel contracts from 2019-2029 have risen from £4.5bn to £15.3bn, while two accommodation providers still owe millions in excess profits that the Home Office has not recovered, the report found.” https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr43ww32xx0o
meanwhile…
‘ Health leaders are warning that NHS services and jobs in England will have to be cut unless up to £3bn more in funding is allocated to cover unexpected costs.
The NHS Confederation and NHS Providers, representing trusts and other health organisations, said in a joint statement that the cost of covering redundancies and strikes, along with paying more for medicines, was not included in the budget this year and will need extra cash from the Chancellor.” https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9934y423nzo
CCTV footage has captured the moment police tasered and arrested an Afghan national after a triple stabbing which left a 49-year-old dog walker dead in Uxbridge.
Police and ambulance crews were called to Midhurst Gardens at around 5pm on Monday where three victims were attacked.
The dog walker was treated at the scene but died, while a 45-year-old man suffered life-changing injuries. The third victim, a 14-year-old boy, sustained injuries which were not life-threatening or changing.
The Afghan, 22, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, the Metropolitan Police said today.
According to residents, a fight had broken out involving the Afghan, who was living as a lodger in the home of the 45-year-old.
After chasing two victims out the house, the 49-year-old man - who was walking his dog at the time - tried to intervene but was slashed across the neck, eyewitnesses said.
https://x.com/SeanyBoyy89/status/1983169003288752577