A Home Office mental health programme is providing illegal migrants with free orchestra training, sewing machines, and Afghan cuisine to create a “new, multicultural sound for 21st century Britain”, explosive documents reveal.
The government scheme includes building a migrant “ensemble” of musicians, cooking lessons, and the provision of mobile phones, bicycles and beard trimmers – all funded by taxpayers housing asylum seekers in hotels costing £5 million daily.
A Home Office report entitled “Workstreams, Tools and Case Studies: 2025 Edition”, seen by GB News, details various “good practice” initiatives promoted by the department’s Asylum Mental Health and Wellbeing Team for migrants in taxpayer-funded accommodation.
‘Multicultural Sound’ Orchestra Initiative
The One World Orchestra programme delivers music workshops in migrant hotels, featuring singing, percussion, instrument lessons and recorded music sessions. According to the Home Office document, the objective is “to build a professional ensemble of diverse musicians to bring a higher profile to the wealth of musical talent in the country and to create a new, multi-cultural sound for 21st century Britain.
Robert Bates, founder and Research Director of the Centre for Migration Control, condemned the initiative: “A ‘multicultural sound of 21st century Britain’ sounds absolutely ghastly – a cacophony of nonsense. The only music these people should be anywhere near is the music of an airport departure lounge.”
The scheme comes as almost 1,200 illegal migrants arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel on Saturday alone, adding to ongoing tensions over the government’s asylum accommodation policy.
Free Phones, Sewing Machines and Afghan Food
The report also praises support from the St Vincent de Paul Society, which provides migrants with an extensive range of items including:
- Free mobile phones “to keep in touch with family still in their home countries
- Clothing and toiletries
- Pushchairs and suitcases
- Beard trimmers
- Shopping vouchers
- Sewing machines
- Bicycles
- Afghan food to “recognise asylum seeker heritage
The provision of culturally specific food, particularly Afghan cuisine, is described in the documents as a way to acknowledge migrants’ cultural background while supporting their mental wellbeing.
Taxpayer Fury Over ‘Smorgasbord of Benefits’
The revelations have sparked outrage among migration control advocates, with critics arguing the benefits package far exceeds what many British citizens can access.
The Home Office simply does not realise that the British public are sick of this farce,” Bates told GB News. “Young men who have broken into our country are being presented with a smorgasbord of benefits that they do not deserve.”
He added: “The only thing we should be giving these men is a bed in a detention facility – for a maximum of two weeks – whilst we arrange their deportation. The country is at the end of its tether and this Home Office has no democratic legitimacy to be peddling this nonsense.
Mental Health Programme Expansion
The initiatives form part of a broader mental health support framework developed by the Home Office’s Asylum Mental Health and Wellbeing Team. The programme has been expanded significantly since its inception, with the 2025 edition of the report showcasing various case studies of “successful” interventions.
Additional programmes mentioned in the documents include:
- Cooking lessons and kitchen skills training
- Football sessions delivered by Sheffield Wednesday FC Community Programme
- Trauma-informed practice pilots
- Online mental health courses for asylum accommodation staff
The Home Office has commissioned evaluations of these programmes, with findings due in March 2025 to inform future mental health support strategies for asylum seekers.
Rising Hotel Costs and Numbers
Data shows there has been an increase in asylum seekers housed in hotels since Labour came to power, with the government currently using around 210 hotels at a daily cost of £5 million. The government has pledged to end the use of hotels by 2029, though critics argue the timeline is too distant given public opposition.
The mental health scheme revelations come amid broader concerns about the asylum system, with more than 26,000 migrants crossing the Channel so far this year. The Home Office maintains that mental health support is essential for asylum seekers, many of whom have experienced trauma.
However, migration control advocates argue the extensive benefits package sends the wrong message and creates a pull factor for illegal immigration.
These initiatives demonstrate a complete disconnect between the Home Office and public sentiment,” a Centre for Migration Control spokesperson said. While British families struggle with the cost of living crisis, illegal migrants are being offered orchestra lessons and sewing machines. It’s an insult to taxpayers.”
The Home Office has been approached for comment regarding the mental health scheme and its associated costs but had not responded at the time of publication.
Follow for more updates on Britannia Daily
Image Credit (Shortened):
Lunar House detail on Wellesley Road (2 Mar 2019) – by Stephen Richards, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
