Free bus travel scheme for refugees fleeing countries including Ukraine and Afghanistan is scrapped in Wales after two years

The free bus travel scheme for refugees fleeing countries such as Ukraine and Afghanistan has been scrapped by the Welsh government after two years.

The Welcome Ticket programme was launched in March 2022 and was designed to be a helpful tool for those looking to make the UK their home.

It ends today, March 31, but the Welsh government has said it intends to introduce a replacement in the future.

Over the past two years, the Welsh government who is in charge of transport as it is devolved, said an estimated one million journeys had been taken using Welcome Ticket.

The project was funded by Welsh government schemes the Bus Emergency Scheme, and the Bus Transition Fund, which were introduced to help bus and rail services recover after the pandemic - both of which have now ended.

It is not clear how much money was spent by the Welsh government providing the refugees free bus travel, but a similar scheme in Scotland has outlined £2m for the upcoming financial year. 

The Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf confirmed in November the money had been set aside for next year's budget. 

One of the people who will be effected by the ending of free bus travel in Wales is Marius Ambara Kamna who fled to the country from Sierra Leone because of his sexuality.

The 32-year-old told the BBC: 'Withdrawing the scheme would be a shame. Many people cannot afford tickets to move around.'

He said he arrived in Wales with almost nothing, but was able to get around using the tickets.

'It’s very helpful for everyone. You can jump on the bus and it’s totally free. I use it to go to school, I use it to visit friends, sometimes I go to visit people around Wales', he said.

Now Mr Kamna is worried about how he will get around without the free travel in the future. 

Kirran Lochhead Strang, who works at the Cardiff based refugee charity Oasic centre, said scrapping Welcome Ticket would hinder those trying to integrate into society. 

Campaigners have said free bus travel helps prevent isolation among people in the asylum system, allowing them to more easily attend GP appointments, solicitors meetings and language lessons.

Under UK wide employment law, people applying for asylum are unable to work.

The Home Office provides £47.39 per week, which equals around £6.80 a day, for people in uncatered accommodation.

Those in hotels get £9.58 per week, or around £1.40 a day.

The Welsh government said it was intending to establish a 'new phase' which would be sustainable and fit-for-purpose, to ensure its resources can be focused on those most in need.

It said it would work closely with travel operators, local authorities, the third sector and sanctuary seekers, to develop this new phase of the scheme.

An update on the next phase is expected in the summer.

Meanwhile, the UK taxpayer will shell out £5.4 billion on migrant hotels and other asylum support this year – a staggering £15 million a day.

Rocketing costs have forced the Home Office to secure an extra £4 billion from the Treasury to cover a massive overspend on asylum accommodation.

Across all areas of immigration and asylum, the Home Office's overspend will hit £5.9 billion in the 2023-24 financial year, official papers showed.

An analysis of the figures by the Labour Party said it amounted to an 'eye-watering' £4.3 billion overspend on asylum support across the year.

There are currently more than 50,000 asylum seekers being housed full-board in hotels across the country.

The £5.4 billion also covers asylum seekers living in self-catering accommodation, who receive £49.18 a week for each person in their household to cover food, clothing and other costs.

In a letter to the Commons home affairs committee, published this month, Home Office mandarin Sir Matthew Rycroft said asylum was 'a volatile area to budget'.

The permanent secretary said the £4 billion extra allocated to asylum support 'was not an unanticipated spend but a result of record levels of small-boat arrivals since the Spending Review 2021'.

The decision to scrap free bus travel come as yesterday it was announced that a military camp in Wales will be used to house scores of people fleeing the Taliban in Afghanistan, who risked their lives to support the UK.

A maximum of 180 people will be housed in East Camp - a Ministry of Defence (MoD) housing estate in St Athan, Vale of Glamorgan.

There are set to be 50 people in the first cohort of families seeking refuge from the Taliban, with half being children, South Wales Argus reports.

The journey to the sleepy village is said to be a one-way ticket for people who will probably never return to Afghanistan.

People arriving at the camp will be travelling from Pakistan, where they were previously residing to escape the Taliban.

The arrival of the men was initially met with protests from worried locals concerned over the impact on local services and house prices in the 800-population village. 

The scrapping of free bus travel for refugees comes as it was revealed earlier this month asylum seekers at a troubled immigration centre are being taken on shopping trips to keep them entertained following warnings 'boredom' could lead to serious violence.

Concerns have repeatedly been raised about conditions at Wethersfield airbase in Essex, which is home to hundreds of migrants - many of whom arrived in Britain after crossing the Channel.

Former border watchdog David Neal visited the isolated site near Braintree in December and February after insiders reported 'almost nightly fighting' between different nationalities.

He described a feeling of 'hopelessness caused by boredom' among residents, and warned this would 'lead to increased criminality, including arson'. The Home Office has rejected his assessment.

It comes as the atmosphere at the centre, set to house 1,7000 migrants, is said to be 'horrendous'.