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enough resources and organisation to do the job properly. ## The cost of enforcement There will also be costs involved in stronger enforcement. More police work. More intelligence gathering. More cooperation with France and other countries. More work investigating financial networks. More resources for returns. But again, the question should be: **What result are we buying?** If spending ?10 million disrupts a criminal network responsible for thousands of dangerous crossings, that is very different from spending ?10 million on a programme that produces little measurable result. Government should think in terms of outcomes. Not simply budgets. ## The taxpayer's question The ordinary taxpayer is entitled to ask: **?What am I getting for my money??** That applies whether the money is being spent on hospitals, schools, defence, pensions or immigration. Nobody should be told that asking the question makes them cruel. It doesn't. It makes them a taxpayer. But the taxpayer also deserves honest answers. If money is being spent because the law requires the Government to provide accommodation while an asylum claim is considered, say so. If money is being spent because the asylum system is overloaded, say so. If changing the system would cost more initially but save money later, show the figures. Treat the public like adults. ## The bigger economic picture There is another issue that must be kept separate from the asylum debate. Legal immigration and irregular migration are not the same thing. People who come to Britain legally to work may pay taxes and contribute to the economy. Some refugees who are eventually given protection may also become workers, taxpayers and valued members of British communities. That means the economic argument cannot simply be: **?Immigration costs money.?** The real question is much more complicated. Which type of migration? At what level? With what skills? Under what rules? With what costs to public services? And with what economic contribution? A serious book has to ask all of those questions. ## The investment test Every new policy proposed in this book should therefore pass a simple test. **What does it cost?** **What does it achieve?** **How will we measure success?** **What happens if it fails?** That is how taxpayers should expect their money to be managed. And perhaps that is the biggest change Britain needs. Not simply more money. Not simply more laws. Not simply more announcements. But **accountability**. If the Government tells the public that a policy will reduce small-boat crossings, the public should be able to look at the figures afterwards and decide whether it did. If it didn't, change it. That brings us to an even bigger issue. Money and policy are important. But ultimately, immigration is also about **public confidence**. And if the public stops believing that the system is fair, controlled and enforceable, the consequences can go far beyond the balance sheet. # Chapter Fourteen ## When Public Confidence Breaks Down There is something more important than statistics. It is trust. A government can publish figures every month, announce new policies and hold endless meetings. But if ordinary people no longer believe that the system is fair or under control, those announcements will mean very little. That is when frustration begins to turn into anger. ## People want to believe the rules matter Most people understand that a country needs rules. They understand that there have to be rules about who can enter, who can stay and who must leave. They may disagree about what those rules should be. But they generally expect the rules to mean something. If somebody follows the proper immigration process, they may reasonably ask why somebody else