We've joined over 220 organisations to demand an increase in Asylum Support rates 10th June 2020 It was announced this week that the Home Office would increase Asylum Support rates by just 26 pence a day. This token rise means rates still lie at under £40 per person a week despite the widely known risks created by such low rates. Critically low support rates diminish the safety of people who are seeking asylum across the UK. In regular times it is incredibly difficult to live off of these rates, in a global pandemic it is near impossible. The Home Office has stated that this rise is in line with ONS data. But in reality what can you buy for 26 pence extra a day? Refugee Action has put together a list of the items you can buy. To acknowledge that rates need to rise yet to then implement such small changes is immeasurably cruel. We have therefore joined over 220 organisations in writing to the Home Secretary Priti Patel to call on her to urgently reconsider her decision in order to safeguard people seeking asylum across the UK. 9 June 2020 Dear Secretary of State Covid-19 pandemic: asylum support rates As over 200 organisations working with and alongside people seeking asylum in the UK, we believe your decision announced to parliament yesterday to grant an increase of just £1.85 in the weekly rate of asylum support is wholly unacceptable. It would not allow people to meet their essential living needs in normal times; and it completely fails to take account of the additional needs and severe pressures placed on individuals and families during a public health emergency. We urge you to immediately reconsider this decision. The Covid-19 pandemic has affected us all, but it is not affecting us all equally. The challenges for those left to live on little more than £5 a day have been further exacerbated in the current crisis. We know that people seeking asylum have serious problems being able to afford enough food to feed their families, and are making impossible choices between food, cleaning materials, nappies and over the counter medication. We know families are struggling with the realities of homeschooling without internet access or sufficient educational resources to support their children’s development. We know people worry about their ability to self-isolate as they cannot afford to stock up on provisions. Following Public Health England’s recent analysis, we know that people from BAME backgrounds, which includes the vast majority of people seeking asylum in the UK, are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Following government guidance to ‘stay alert’ or ‘stay at home’ is profoundly more difficult when you are living in poverty. Welcome measures taken by the UK Government to “strengthen the safety net” for those in receipt of mainstream benefits during the Covid-19 pandemic have resulted in increases to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit by approximately £20 per week. The speed with which these decisions were taken is in marked contrast to the length of time taken to reach a decision on asylum support rates. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, asylum support rates were already significantly less than mainstream benefits; following the uplift, it is now barely 40% of the allowance people over 25 receive on Universal Credit. People seeking asylum are effectively banned from working, leaving them entirely reliant upon asylum support to avoid destitution. It is imperative that the safety net for people in the asylum system is equally and immediately strengthened, enabling people to keep themselves and their families safe. We are united in calling on the UK Government to reconsider its decision; and increase the rate of asylum support to allow people seeking asylum to meet their essential living needs during the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond. Due to the urgency of the current situation, we are calling on the Home Office to immediately ensure that asylum support rates receive the same £20 Covid-related uplift as Universal Credit. In addition, we call for the link with mainstream benefits to be reinstated by setting asylum support at 70% of Universal Credit to ensure people seeking asylum are able to meet their needs both during, and outside of, a public health pandemic. Every week, organisations have provided the Home Office with evidence on how people seeking asylum are struggling to meet their essential living needs in these emergency circumstances. We believe it is both a moral and a public health imperative that asylum support rates are increased immediately. In recent months the Prime Minister has confirmed to parliament on two separate occasions that the Government will address the wellbeing of people seeking asylum during the Covid-19 pandemic. On 25 March he told MPs that vulnerable groups including asylum seekers “will certainly receive the Home Office funding that they need and deserve” during the pandemic. On 13 May he stated: “We will make sure that nobody in this country, let alone asylum seekers, is ill-treated”. It is clear that this decision does not meet those commitments. We urge you to reconsider your decision as a matter of urgency. We look forward to hearing from you soon and to working with your ministers and officials to address these matters in the very near future. Yours sincerely Abigail Housing - Amanda Church-Mcfarlane, Destitution Project Coordinator Action for Children - Carol Iddon, Deputy Chief Executive Action Foundation - Julian Prior, Chief Executive African Rainbow Family - Aderonke Apata, Founder After Exploitation - Maya Esslemont, Director Amnesty International - Steve Valdez-Symonds, Programme Director, Refugee and Migrant Rights Amnesty Kirklees - Matthew Ambler, Group Secretary ARC Project Blackburn - Saida Soge, Manager Asylum Support Appeals Project - Alice Webb, Director ASIRT - Dave Conroy, Director ASSIST Sheffield - Richard Chessum and Jerry Seymour, Joint Chairs Association of Visitors to Immigration Detainees - Ali McGinley, Director Asylum Education & Legal Fund - Amanda Sebestyen, Co-ordinator Asylum Justice - Emmy Chater Asylum Link Merseyside - Ewan Roberts, Manager Asylum Matters - Paul Hook, Project Director Asylum Seekers and Refugees Group - Peter Gowland, Acting Chairperson Asylum Welcome - Almas Farzi, Front Line Services Manager Baobab Women's Project - Sarah Taal, Director Baptist Union of Great Britain - Revd David Mayne, Moderator of Council Barnsley Borough City of Sanctuary - Frank Parnham, Chair Barnsley Stand up to Racism - Fran Postlethwaite, Secretary Barnsley Trades Union Council - George Arthur, Secretary BEACON (Bradford Ecumenical Asylum Concern) - Katy Armistead, Team Leader Bearwood Action for Refugees- Josh Evans, Vice Chair BIASAN - Sue Balcomb, Campaigns Coordinator Birmingham and Solihull Women’s Aid - Shazna Islam, Operations Manager Birmingham City of Sanctuary - Dr David Brown, Chairman Birmingham Community Hosting Network - Andrew Jolly, Trustee Blackburn Amnesty International Group - Irene Ryan, Chairperson Boaz Trust - Ros Holland, Chief Executive Bradford Friendship Choir – Fran Wyburn, Musical Director Bradford Homeless & New Arrivals Health Team, Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust - Nikki Harvey, Mental Health Practitioner Bradford Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Survivors Service - Jane Gregory, Manager – Finance, Fundraising & Service Development Bristol Refugee Rights - Beth Wilson, Director British Red Cross - Mike Adamson, Chief Executive Burslem Jubilee Project - Sheila Podmore, Project Leader and Trustee Calderdale Valley of Sanctuary - Laurence Larroche, Committee Member Care4Calais - Clare Moseley, Founder CARIS Haringey - Gloria Saffrey, Director Central Asylum Yorkshire - Lucy Lucy, Chair Central England Law Centre - Sue Bent, Chief Executive City of Sanctuary - Sian Summers-Rees, Chief Executive Church of Scotland - The Very Rev Dr Susan Brown, Convener of Faith Impact Forum Cohesion Sheffield – Panni Loh, Cohesion Sheffield Co-ordinator Connected Voice - Lisa Goodwin, Chief Executive Coventry Refugee & Migrant Centre - Toni Soni, Centre Director Coventry Asylum and Refugee Action Group (CARAG) – Loraine Masiya Mponela, Chairperson Creative Minds Community Organisation - Ramatoulie Saidykhan, Chair and Founder Croydon Refugee Day Centre – Peter D Hall, Co-ordinator Derby Refugee Advice Centre - Janet Fuller, Project Manager Derbyshire LGBT+ - Ian Robson, Chief Executive Destination Barnsley - Alan Curtis, Secretary Destitute Asylum Seekers Huddersfield - Maeve Larkin, Manager Destitution Project Bolton - Shaheda Mangerah, Asylum Seekers and Refugees Caseworker Detention Action - Bella Sankey, Director Displaced People in Action (DPIA) - Faruk Ogut, Chief Coordinator Doncaster Conversation Club - Nic Burne and Jan Foster, Trustee Doncaster Minster - Fr Daniel Parkinson, Assistant Curate Durham City of Sanctuary - Susan F Frenk, Co-Chair Eagles Wing Bury - Sue Arnall, Honorary Treasurer Enable 2 - Liz Weatherill, Managing Director End Destitution NI - Sipho Sibanda, End Destitution Coordinator Entraide (Mutual Aid) - Felix Kupay, Chairperson Europe Roma UK - Ladislav Balaz, Chair Family Refugee Support Project - Jason Ward, Director / Senior Therapist Fatima House – Mauricio Silva, Co-ordinator 4Wings Northwest CIC - Ciiku Sondergaard, Director, Projects Coordinator Freed Voices Freedom From Torture - Sonya Sceats, Chief Executive Friends of the Drop in for Asylum Seekers and Refugees - Sandra Watt, Manager The Gap Wales - Mark Seymour, Refugee Project Manager Gatwick Detainee Welfare Group - Anna Pincus, Director Govan Community Project - Traci Kirkland, Head of Charity Grassington and District Peace Group - Richard Hargreaves, Newsletter Editor and Information Coordinator Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit - Denise McDowell, Chief Executive Growing Together Levenshulme - Jaqui Cotton, Project Co-ordinator HAAS - Steve Hibbs, Secretary Hackney Migrant Centre - Daf Viney, Director of Services Halton & St Helens VCA - Sally Yeoman, Chief Executive Haringey Migrant Support Centre - Karolina Maroszek, Centre Manager Hastings and District Trades Union Council - Ian Stewart, International Officer Hastings Community of Sanctuary - Polly Gifford/ Jane Grimshaw, Co-Chairs Hastings Immigration Campaign Team - Dr Felicity Laurence, Director Hastings Lift the Ban Campaign South - Jay Kramer, Director Hastings Voluntary Action - The Links Project - Marc Turczanski, Project Coordinator Helen Bamber Foundation - Kerry Smith, Chief Executive Help Refugees / Choose Love - Josie Naughton, Chief Executive Herefordshire City of Sanctuary - Jonathan Hopkinson, Secretary Honeycomb Group - Diane Thompson, Chief Executive Hope Projects - Phil Davis, Co-ordinator Host Nottingham - Jane Henson, Chair House Of Rainbow CIC - Jide Macaulay, Founder & CEO Housing 4 All - Aylisha Hogan, Organiser Iberian and Latin American Association - Dr Patricia Rodríguez-Martínez-Jones, Chairperson Ice and Fire - Sebastian Aguirre, Director - Actors for Human Rights International Community Organisation of Sunderland (ICOS) - Michal Chantkowski, Development and Services Manager Islington Law Centre - Roopa Tanna, Solicitor Jewish Council for Racial Equality - Dr Edie Friedman, Executive Director Jesuit Refugee Service - Sarah Teather, Director Jill Franklin Trust - Norman Franklin, Trustee Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants - Satbir Singh, Chief Executive Just Fair - Jess McQuail, Director Justice First - Barbara Hungin, Chair of Trustees Kings Heath Action for Refugees - Rosie Gunn, Chair and Founder Kirklees Multi-Agency Group - Bill Dennis, Chair Learn for Life Enterprise - Hayley Nelson, Director Leeds Asylum Seekers Support Network - Jon Beech, Director Leeds Refugee Forum - Ali Mahgoub, Director Leeds Unity Centre - Natasha Jarratt, Director Leicester City of Sanctuary - Pete Hobson, Chair of Trustees Lewisham Refugee and Migrant Network - Rosario Guimba-Stewart, Chief Executive LGBT Health and Wellbeing - Maruska Greenwood, Chief Executive Lifeline Options - David Forbes, Manager Mafwa Theatre - Keziah Berelson, Co-Artistic Director Manchester City of Sanctuary - Liz Hibberd, Strategic and Partnership Lead MAP Middlesbrough - Ailsa Adamson, Project Manager Mary Thompson Fund - Pete Widlinski, Chair Maternity Action - Ros Bragg, Director Meeting Point Armley - Emma Crossley, Project Manager Mencap Liverpool & Sefton - Sarah Jones, Chief Executive Merseyside Law Centre - Siobhan Taylor-Ward, Solicitor and Our Liverpool Coordinator Merseyside Refugee Support Network - Seána Roberts, Manager Methodist Church in Britain - Revd Dr Barbara Glasson, President of the Methodist Conference Micro Rainbow - Sebastian Rocca, Founder and CEO Migrant and Refugee Children's Legal Unit (MiCLU) - Lisa Payne, Senior Policy and Advocacy Officer Migrant Voice - Nazek Ramadan, Director Migrants at Work - Ake Achi, Founder and Director Migrants' Law Project - Sonal Ghelani MindOut - Helen Jones, Chief Executive Minsteracres Retreat Centre - Liz Holmes, Outreach Coordinator MotherShip - Leonie Hart, Chair NACCOM - Hazel Williams, Director North East Law Centre - Clare Hurst, Senior Solicitor North of England Refugee Service - Dr Mohamed Nasreldin, Director Northumberland County of Sanctuary - Ben Hopkinson, Secretary and Trustee. Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Refugee Forum - Matt Atkins, Director Nottingham Arimathea Trust - Caron Boulghassoul, Chief Executive Oasis Church, Birmingham - Rob & Margaret Hooper, Church Pastors One September Ltd, Liverpool - Aleasha Chaunte, Co-Director Open Door (North East) - Louisa Henderson, Destitution Services Manager PAFRAS - Karen Pearse, Director Penistone Asylum Seekers and Refugee Support Group - Gina Hawkins, Chair Praxis - Sally Daghlian OBE, Chief Executive Project 17 – Abi Brunswick, Director Quaker Asylum and Refugee Network (QARN) - Catherine Henderson, Steering Group Lead Rainbow Haven – Kate Percival, Manager RASA (Rape & Sexual Abuse) Merseyside – Sarah Wood, Wirral Centre Manager Reach Project Huddersfield - Rev. Ernie Whalley, Chair of Management Committee Refugee Action - Stephen Hale, Chief Executive Refugee Action York - John Williamson, Volunteer Co-ordinator Refugee Council - Maurice Wren, Chief Executive Refugee Education Training Advice Service Leeds - Fidelis Chebe, Operations and Development Manager Refugee Support Devon - Nelida Montes de Oca, Casework Co-ordinator Refugee Women Connect - Alison Moore, Chief Executive Regional Refugee Forum - Suraiya Riyaz, Secretary REPOD Resettlement Programme for Overseas Doctors - Dr Margaret Hinman, Volunteer Restore - a project of Birmingham Churches Together - Jeremy Thompson, Manager Right to Remain - Lisa Matthews, Co-ordinator Room to Heal - Elli Free, Director Saabat Gallery - Azad Mohammed, Director Safe Passage International - Beth Gardiner-Smith, Chief Executive Salaam Community Centre - Zeba Alam, Manager Saltburn and East Cleveland Befrienders - Alan Hiscox, Treasurer Samphire Ex-Detainee Project - Tanya Long, Director Sanctuary Hosting - Sarah Wahby, Service Manager Sanctuary Kirklees - Jane Wood, Trustee Sanctus - Revd Sally Smith Sante Refugee Mental Health Access Project - Edward Milner, Chair Scottish Episcopal Church - Most Reverend Mark Strange, Primus and Bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness Scottish Refugee Council - Sabir Zazai, Chief Executive Shap Ltd - Janine Iyanda, Operations Manager Sheffield City of Sanctuary - Thomas Martin, Director Shpresa Programme – Luljeta Nuzi, Chief Executive Shropshire Supports Refugees - Amanda Jones, Director Sisters United - Veecca Smith Uka, Chair Skipton Refugee Support Group - Judy Rogers, Vice Chair SOGICA Project - Dr Carmelo Danisi, Dr Moira Dustin, Professor Nuno Ferreira, Dr Nina Held Solace - Kathryn Ashworth, Chief Executive South Yorkshire Migration and Asylum Action Group - Stuart Crosthwaite, Secretary South Yorkshire Refugee Law and Justice - Hilary Smith, Co-ordinator St Bede with St Clement Church - Elaine Jones, Vicar St Mary’s Cathedral Justice and Peace Group - Teresa Lyth, Chair St Peter’s Church, Stockton-on-Tees - Revd Bill Braviner St Augustine’s Centre - Becky Hellewell, Senior Caseworker Stafford Welcomes Refugees - Netta Cartwright, Founder and Educational co-ordinator Staffordshire North and Stoke-on-Trent CAB - Jude Hawes, Specialist Services and Equalities Team Manager STARCH (South Tyneside Asylum Seekers and Refugees Church Help) - Margaret Gregg, Secretary Steve Biko Housing Association Ltd - Tracey Gore, Director Stonewall - Leanne M MacMillan, Director Stories of Hope and Home - Steph Neville, Project Manager and Founder Student Action for Refugees - Emily Crowley, Chief Executive Suffolk Refugee Support - Martin Simmonds, Fundraising & Communications Officer Sunderland Black and Minority Ethnic Network Limited - Michal Chantkowski, Board Secretary Sustain the Alliance for Better Food and Farming - Kath Dalmeny, Chief Executive Swansea Asylum Seekers Support - Professor Tom Cheesman, Chair of Trustees TCC (Trefnu Cymunedol Cymru/Together Creating Communities) - Kay Polley & Sam Rex- Edwards, Lead organisers TGP Cymru - Mike Clark, Director of Family Services The Anchor Project - Indi Elcock, Project Co-ordinator The Brunswick Centre - John McKernaghan, Chief Officer The Church at Carrs Lane - Rev Dr Neil Johnson and Rev Cristina Cipriani The Greenhouse Project - Debbie Wright, Chief Executive The Liberal Jewish Synagogue – Alexandra Wright, Senior Rabbi The Refugee and Migrant Centre Ltd - Arten Llazari, Chief Executive Tiber Community Building - John Ramsden, Chair Together with Migrant Children - Nick Watts, Director Trinity Centre - Heather Cox, Treasurer Tyne and Wear Anti Fascist Association - Mick Bowman, Chair UK Lesbian & Gay Immigration Group - Leila Zadeh, Chief Executive United Reformed Church - Revd Nigel Uden, Moderator of General Assembly Unity in Diversity - David Borwell, Secretary and Co-ordinator Unity in Poverty Action (UPA) – Mary Halsey, Development Worker University of Liverpool Law Clinic - Judith Carter, Lecturer and in-house Solicitor Unseen - Kate Garbers, Director Upbeat Communities - Andrew Jackson, Chief Executive Upper Wharfedale Refugee Support Group - Stella Perrott, Coordinator Voices in Exile - Mel Steel, Director Volunteers Together Project - Marie Allainguillaume, Project Coordinator Waging Peace - Maddy Crowther, Co-Executive Director Wakefield Baptist Church - Flora Davies, Farsi Worker Wakefield City of Sanctuary - Geoff Fielding, Trustee Walking With in North Tyneside - David McKenzie, Chair of Trustees Welcome Group Halesowen - Andrew Harwood, Project Manager and Chair Welsh Centre for International Affairs - Susie Ventris-Field, Chief Executive Welsh Refugee Council - Andrea Cleaver, Chief Executive West London Welcome Centre for Refugees and Migrants - Joanne MacInnes, Director Wolverhampton City of Sanctuary - Alan Marriott, Chair Women for Refugee Women - Natasha Walter, Director Women Centre Kirklees - Sobiya Din, Senior Mental Health Facilitator and Volunteer Coordinator Yarls Wood Befrienders - Nicky Woods, Chief Executive DOWNLOAD THE LETTER Manage Cookie Preferences