2. frequently asked questions

How many destitute asylum seekers are there?

Nobody knows the precise number. Charities across the UK are seeing ever increasing numbers, including many who are pregnant, disabled or in poor mental health. For example, the Refugee Survival Trust give out around 100 destitution grants per month to people in crisis in Scotland. In 2005 the National Audit Office estimated that there are 283,500 people refused asylum living in the UK, so the scale of the problem is huge.

Why can’t destitute people refused asylum just go back to their home country?

Many people refused asylum are too afraid to go home voluntarily, not least as they are from countries - such as Iraq, Zimbabwe or Somalia - torn apart by conflict or where human rights abuses are rife. They consider starving and sleeping on the streets in Britain to be a safer option.

 Mary from Uganda was destitute for three months with twins aged 3, after fleeing a dawn raid by the UK Borders Agency. Eventually she won leave to remain.

Why are people refused asylum not removed?

In many cases it is simply not possible to remove people back to their original homeland – for example there may be no safe route, no functioning airport or it is impossible to get travel documents from their country of origin. This raises the question, if it is not safe or possible to remove someone, why was their claim for protection refused?

How long are people destitute for?

Refugee Action interviewed 125 destitute people refused asylum in England. On average people had spent 21 months being destitute.

Where do most destitute asylum seekers sleep?

We’ve met people seeking or refused asylum who have slept in parks, phone boxes, behind bins, in doorways or just travel on night buses.  Others are taken in by friends who are fellow refugees; moving from floor to floor so that they don’t become too big a burden. What makes things even more difficult is that people refused asylum aren’t allowed to have people staying in their NASS flats so by helping others they are running the risk of having all their own support stopped as well.

Hasn’t the “New Asylum Model” fixed the system?

As the New Asylum Model (NAM) makes decisions so quickly, the people made destitute now haven’t had time to build up any support networks and so are even more vulnerable. Figures from the Inter Agency Partnership figures show that many people are still ending up destitute as a result of the New Asylum Model.

During 2007 the government started a review of a backlog of cases (known as Legacy Cases). Won’t this solve the problem?

The review of old cases is certainly a welcome development, but it is going to take at least five years to clear the backlog. Five years is a long time to survive with no money and nowhere to live. The review will do nothing to stop more recently arrived people seeking asylum from being made destitute.