Asylum seekers living in government-run accommodation will have to start cooking their own meals as part of the government’s plan to make refugee centres “more basic”, immigration minister Marjolein Faber told members of parliament.

The aim, she said, is to cut costs and to ensure that refugee centres are not “luxury holiday resorts”. The ministry estimates that requiring refugees to cook for themselves will reduce costs by 41%.

“Cooking is also a useful thing to do,” the minister said.

Kitchens will have to be installed in refugee centres where they are currently not available. Faber did not comment on how much food currently costs.

Asylum seekers currently receive €14.87 per week to pay for personal hygiene products and public transport, and a further €58.24 if they have to provide their own meals – less if they are part of a family.

Refugees with an income or assets are already required to contribute towards the cost of their accommodation, and that scheme will be expanded to include healthcare costs, Faber said, without giving further details.

The government’s refugee settlement agency COA and refugee aid group Vluchtelingenwerk have not yet commented on the minister’s plans.

Faber, who represents the far-right PVV in the cabinet, has pledged to introduce the “strictest refugee regime ever”.

In December, she rejected plans for a small-scale refugee accommodation in Apeldoorn, saying it was not basic enough.

The cabinet has agreed to reserve an additional €900 million for the immigration ministry budget to cope with the mounting cost of accommodation.