A new report published today by Daughters of Charity Services reveals the harrowing extent to which the UK asylum system inflicts poverty and destitution among people seeking safety.
The report, titled Designed into the System: Poverty Among Asylum Seekers in the UK, brings together evidence from frontline organisations, think tanks and lived experience to present a stark picture of how current government policies are driving hardship, hunger and homelessness among thousands of adults and children.
KEY FINDINGS INCLUDE:
- Financial Support is Inadequate: Asylum seekers receive as little as £49.18 in self-catered accommodation, or £8.86 in catered accommodation per week, leaving people unable to afford basic needs such as women’s sanitary products, baby milk formula and nappies.
- Food Insecurity is Prevalent: 91% of asylum seekers report they could not afford enough food, with many adults regularly skipping meals to feed their children, going months without sufficient cooking facilities and fridges, and eating nutritionally inadequate food.
- Inhumane Accommodation: Conditions in asylum accommodation - including hotels, military barracks and barges - are often overcrowded, unsanitary, and unsafe, with reports of children living in mould-infested rooms or being injured by collapsing infrastructure.
- Denial of the Right to Work: While the majority of asylum seekers want to work, the government’s prohibition on employment during the asylum process forces people to become dependent on charities, food banks and faith groups, while increasing their risk of exploitation and modern slavery.
- Health Inequality and Mental Distress: Poor nutrition, lack of access to healthcare, unsafe housing and social exclusion are exacerbated by the system and leading to the deterioration of physical and mental health. Pregnant women, children and people with disabilities are particularly vulnerable.
The report also outlines urgent policy recommendations, including:
- Increasing asylum support to 70% of Universal Credit.
- Implementing targeted support for people with higher needs, such as pregnant women, young families, people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.
- Improving the quality and regulation of asylum accommodation.
- Ending the ban on work for asylum seekers after six months.
- Restoring trust in public services by removing barriers to healthcare access.
Mark Choonara, CEO of Daughters of Charity Services, says:
“This report highlights the lack of dignity or justice in our current system. We are treating people fleeing conflict, trauma and persecution in a way which fails to meet the basic standards which our values of compassion and humanity demand.
“We stand alongside those calling for radical reform to the system we currently have in place, to ensure that people seeking sanctuary in this country are treated with the dignity, respect and humanity with which any one of us might hope to be treated ourselves."
Daughters of Charity Services is calling on policymakers, faith communities and the public to read the report and support urgent reforms that centre dignity, justice and integration at the heart of the asylum system.
