Clause 34 - Asylum-seeker: form of support
Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill
10:45 am
Mr Humfrey Malins (Woking, Conservative)
The possible withdrawal of the support only option is highly significant. Some respected non-governmental organisations, including the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, the Refugee Council, the Law Society, Justice, the Refugee Legal Centre, the Refugee Children's Consortium, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and the Immigration Advisory Service, have drawn attention to it in briefings. There could not be a more comprehensive or authoritative list of NGOs, all of which are worried about the proposal.
The clause allows the Secretary of State to make an order restricting the provision of essential living needs to those asylum seekers provided with accommodation by the Secretary of State, which seems to compel asylum seekers to accept dispersal. Taken as a whole, the clause would abolish the current option of applying for, and receiving, National Asylum Support Service subsistence support only, that is, without receiving NASS-provided accommodation on dispersal. The NGOs consider that unfair, unjust and counter-productive. In some cases, it could result in the undesirable separation of asylum seekers from friends or relatives able to accommodate them but not to support them financially, causing unnecessary distress to the asylum seekers concerned and increased accommodation costs to NASS.
In other cases, the provision could result in the denial of all welfare support to those asylum seekers who, for understandable reasons, prefer to stay with friends or relatives rather than being dispersed. For example, NASS does not make special provision for disabled asylum seekers, or those suffering severe illness. Citizens advice bureaux have reported being approached by individuals wanting to remain with friends or relatives rather than being dispersed. Nearly 40 per cent. of more than 65,000 asylum seekers and dependants currently supported by NASS have opted to receive subsistence support only. Accordingly, the number of individuals who would be adversely affected by the provision is substantial.
Justice is only one of the groups to have raised the issue. It said:
''Where it is possible for applicants to remain in the community they should not be prevented from doing so''.
I hope that the Government will be able to respond helpfully.