The UK will stop automatically providing accommodation and other support to asylum seekers, as part of a major overhaul to the migration system.
Currently, there is a legal duty under EU law to provide financial assistance to anyone who arrives in the country and claims asylum.
Under the package being announced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood tomorrow, the government will be able to deny that support to people under certain circumstances.
The Home Office described the move as ‘the most sweeping reforms to tackle illegal migration in modern times’, saying they would remove incentives that draw people to get in small boats.
But the changes have been described as ‘harsh and unnecessary’ by the Refugee Council, which said it would lead to more vulnerable people sleeping rough on British streets.
Mahmood has based her new approach on the system introduced by the Danish government.
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The Scandinavians attracted wide attention for driving asylum claims to their lowest point in 40 years, while deporting 95% of those who do not meet stringent criteria.
Labour has also highlighted the fact that the country did not need to leave the European Convention on Human Rights, as the Conservatives and Reform have proposed, to carry out their plan.
The Home Secretary said: ‘This country has a proud tradition of welcoming those fleeing danger, but our generosity is drawing illegal migrants across the channel.
‘The pace and scale of migration is placing immense pressure on communities.
‘This week I will set out the most sweeping changes to our asylum system in a generation. We will restore order and control to our borders.’
In an interview with the Sunday Times, Mahmood said illegal migration ‘is tearing our country apart’.
She added: ‘It’s our job as a Labour government to unite our country and if we don’t sort this out, I think our country becomes much more divided.’
But Refugee Council CEO Enver Solomon warned making the current system ‘more punitive’ will not be a deterrent to desperate people.
He said: ‘Men, women and children seek safety in the UK because they have family here, they speak some English, or they have long-standing ties that help them rebuild their lives in safety.
‘The government should be ensuring that refugees are able to settle into their new communities so they can contribute as proud Britons, in the way so many have done for generations.’
Meanwhile, the Conservatives claimed the new announcement does not go far enough.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: ‘Whilst some of these new measures are welcome, they stop well short of what is really required and some are just yet more gimmicks – like the previous “smash the gangs” gimmick.
‘The truth is this Labour government is incapable of getting any real change past their left-wing backbenchers, especially after the weak example they set with the debacle of their botched welfare reforms.’
On Thursday, Metro revealed the number of people returned to France under the ‘one in, one out’ deal had reached triple figures.
Migration Minister Mike Tapp said the 113 people deported so far represent the early stages of a pilot scheme that will grow as legal issues are ‘ironed out’.
The Home Office said this week almost 50,000 illegal migrants had been deported since last year’s election, a 23% increase on the previous 16-month period.
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