Refugees handed free bus passes and plush sandwiches costing more than a Tesco meal deal

Nearly half a million pounds has been spent on bus passes and sandwich deliveries for refugees over the past four years.

The unveiling of 200 government contracts amounting to £6.6billion has brought expenditure on asylum seekers and refugees to light.

Despite being dubbed as one of the most walkable cities in the world, £426,300 was spent on transportation for resettled refugees around Bristol. Three separate contracts were issued by Bristol City Council between July 2021 and November 2024, with one program running until 2027.

First Bus UK was awarded two contracts, one for £264,000 and the other for £72,300 for refugee bus passes. First West of England was granted the third at a value of £90,000.

Over in the southeast of England, a delicious variety of sandwiches worth nearly £50,000 are supplied weekly for refugees in both the Croydon and Kent Intake Units. The value of each lunch is £4.45, more than the average Tesco meal deal.

The Home Office awarded contracts to Anchor Catering who are tasked with supplying 75 sandwiches per week on a regular basis to the Croydon Unit between February 2024 and January 2026.

The options must include Halal lunches, with 50% of sandwiches being chicken, 20% egg and mayo, 25% veggie/cheese and 5% must be vegan. Meanwhile, in Kent, chicken, egg mayo and veggie sandwiches were supplied between January 2024 and 2025.

Councillor Christine Townsend, Chair of the Children and Young People Committee, said: “As a City of Sanctuary, Bristol is proud to welcome and provide safety for people seeking sanctuary from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences.

“For nine years we have been resettling individuals from a range of schemes and countries through Home Office funding, providing wrap-around support to promote wellbeing, independence, and community integration.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The government is required by law to provide support to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute, but we are determined to ensure value for money in all future contracts, and have introduced new controls to minimise non-essential spending which were not in place when the majority of these contracts were signed under the previous government.“Overall, we are determined to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly and fairly, and it remains our commitment to cut the costs of asylum accommodation, including ending the use of hotels over time.”