More than £660 million of taxpayer money has been directed towards asylum and migration-related research and organisations over the past five years, according to an analysis by journalist Charlotte Gill published by the Daily Sceptic.
The investigation examined public funding awarded to charities, academic institutions and research projects focused on refugees, asylum seekers and migration issues. While much of the spending has been justified as supporting research, public policy and migrant welfare, critics have questioned whether taxpayers are receiving value for money from projects they say often begin from a particular ideological viewpoint.
Among the projects highlighted by Gill are a number of multi-million-pound university research programmes funded through public bodies and research councils.
One of the largest grants identified was more than £2.1 million awarded to Anglia Ruskin University for a project examining health inequalities experienced by refugees, asylum seekers and migrants. The study aims to investigate barriers to healthcare and develop new approaches to improving access to NHS and integrated care services.
A separate project at the University of Reading received just over £2 million to explore Britain’s historic and modern relationship with refugees and asylum seekers. According to the project description, researchers intend to stimulate public debate about whether Britain wishes to remain what they describe as a “nation of refuge”.
Elsewhere, the University of Leicester secured more than £1.5 million for research into LGBTQ+ asylum seekers and refugees, examining policy frameworks and support systems across several countries. Researchers argue the work addresses what they describe as a lack of data relating to the experiences of LGBT asylum applicants.
The analysis also highlights a £795,000 project at SOAS, University of London, examining solidarity between refugees and citizens in border regions of the United Kingdom and Turkey, as well as a £785,000 University of Manchester study investigating the role of art galleries and cultural institutions in representing refugees and migrants.
Other publicly funded projects include research into refugee language education, the mental health impacts of displacement, the use of digital technology by unaccompanied child asylum seekers, and studies examining the experiences of Iranian LGBT refugees.
One project receiving nearly £250,000 at Aston University is investigating what researchers call the “peripheralisation” of asylum accommodation, including the use of former military sites, vessels and hotels to house asylum seekers.
Gill argues that many of the project descriptions contain language that critics would regard as politically loaded rather than academically neutral. Examples cited include references to the Home Office’s “hostile environment” policy, “decolonial approaches” to education, and studies exploring “postcolonial sexual identity”.
Supporters of the research maintain that it helps governments, local authorities and public services better understand the challenges faced by asylum seekers and migrants, leading to more effective policies and support programmes. Universities also argue that many such projects address important social, legal and public health questions.
However, critics say the scale of spending raises legitimate questions at a time when public finances remain under pressure and taxpayers are already funding substantial costs associated with the asylum system itself.
The figures come amid continuing debate over migration policy, asylum accommodation and public spending. With record sums being spent on housing asylum seekers and managing migration pressures, scrutiny of related research funding is likely to intensify.
Charlotte Gill’s investigation, published by the Daily Sceptic, argues that the combined spending illustrates how significant public resources have been devoted not only to the asylum system itself, but also to an expanding network of academic and charitable organisations researching and advocating on migration-related issues.
According to the analysis, the total value of taxpayer funding identified exceeds £660 million over the last five years.
Worth reading in full here: https://dailysceptic.org/2026/06/15/british-taxpayers-have-been-charged-660-million-in-the-last-five-years-on-woke-research-about-asylum-seekers/
