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• Report of the Parliamentary Inquiry into Asylum Support for Children and Young People. Children’s Society, January 2013, pp. 40.

Report of the Parliamentary Inquiry into Asylum Support for Children and Young People. Children’s Society, January 2013, pp. 40.

01 March 2013

In 2009, the Home Secretary was given the responsibility to promote the welfare of children in the immigration system. No formal review of the asylum support system was undertaken from this perspective until a cross-party parliamentary inquiry into Asylum Support for Children and Young People was launched in October 2012, led by former children’s minister Sarah Teather MP and supported by the Children’s Society. Written submissions and oral evidence from over 200 individuals and organisations were reviewed, including contributions from asylum-seeking families, local authorities, child protection committees and civil society organisations involved in the defence of access to health care, children’s rights, and refugee rights. The report examined the living conditions of families seeking asylum – supported under Section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum law – and families whose asylum claim was rejected but who cannot be removed from the UK – supported under Section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum law. What the authorities claim to be temporary support schemes can in reality last for years in many cases. The report’s conclusions are alarming: children living in dire poverty, unsecure and unsanitary living standards, and families unable to provide for the essential needs of their children. Destitution puts these families and children at risk of exploitation, especially those under Section 4 support who cannot dispose of their allowance in cash (Azure card), and are entitled to far less support than asylum-seekers under Section 95. In the foreword to the report, Teather concludes that “systemic failures from successive governments are leaving many [children and families seeking protection] destitute.” This, combined with “racial abuse” and “abject disregard for basic human dignity” are in blatant contradiction with the UK’s “proud record of giving protection to those fleeing persecution and war.” According to the report, the practice of “creating a hostile environment” to deter asylum-seekers from coming to the UK is “dangerously flawed.” Teather and the panel strongly recommend, inter alia, that Section 4 support be abolished and replaced by “a single cash-based support system”; that asylum support should not fall below 70% of income support levels; that adult asylum-seekers be permitted to work if their case is still pending after six months and that decent living standards are guaranteed for all.

Link to report: link

Link to written evidence: link