1. What is Destitution?

Destitution (noun)

A total lack of the means of subsistence;  a state of utter poverty

A destitute asylum seeker

¤      is homeless and has no right to any social housing

¤      is not allowed to work and risks imprisonment if they do

¤      cannot claim any benefits or tax credits

¤      cannot get any support from the National Asylum Support Service (NASS)

¤      will have been evicted from their home, with possibly only 7 days notice

may be pregnant, disabled or a survivor of torture

How does an asylum seeker become destitute?

¤      If the decision on an asylum claim is negative, then there is a usually a right of appeal, but unlike, say, a parking ticket fine, where you may get 28 days to appeal, an asylum seeker gets only 10 days to appeal.

¤      If someone seeking asylum or their lawyer doesn’t appeal in time, or if their appeal fails, then their NASS support will stop and they will be evicted from their accommodation.

¤      People seeking asylum with dependent children are less likely to be made destitute as support from NASS should carry on while their children are of school age.

¤      Other asylum seekers become destitute because of administrative delays and errors. Some refugees also experience destitution as it takes months to sort out the transition from NASS support to benefits after being granted status.

The effects of destitution

A destitute asylum seeker:

¤      is likely to suffer from extreme anxiety and depression

¤      is likely to be at risk of racial violence and sexual exploitation

¤      feels safer starving and sleeping on our streets than returning to their home country

Asylum Seekers – explaining the system

·       An asylum seeker is someone who has been forced to leave their country due to fear of persecution and has made a claim for protection, but whose claim is not yet decided; a refugee has had a positive decision on their claim and has been granted leave to remain.

·       Whilst waiting for a decision on their claim, people seeking asylum are not allowed to work and cannot claim any benefits or tax credits. They are supported by the National Asylum Support Service (NASS), part of the Home Office.

People seeking asylum get money from NASS, paid at less than Income Support levels and are provided with basic accommodation on a no choice basis; in Scotland they are nearly always housed in hard to let high rise tower blocks.

Further information:

“The Destitution Trap”, “Down and Out in London”  and also www.icar.org.uk/?lid=6572.

Destitution – the lack of alternatives

The ‘official’ alternative to becoming destitute is to claim what is known as Section 4 Support. The Government claims that nobody needs to be destitute as they can claim Section 4 support instead.

Section 4

¤      Accommodation provided on a no choice basis, often sharing a bedroom with someone you don’t know in housing which falls below nationally agreed standards, eg sometimes even without heating. Much of the housing is what can't be legally rented out to UK citizens because it fails basic standards.

¤      Vouchers you can only use in supermarkets and other major chain stores, worth £35 per week or just £5 per day, no money for bus fares, phone calls or essential items for nursing mothers

¤      Usually only available if you are willing to sign to say that you agree to make a “voluntary return” to your home country and is often not available to pregnant women until 34^th week of pregnancy

¤      Routinely takes many weeks or months to process claims so destitution is inevitable

“stigmatising ….inhumane and inefficient … not adequately providing for basic living needs”    House of Parliament Joint Committee on Human Rights, March 2007

Many people who have been refused asylum do not want to claim Section 4, because they cannot bring themselves to sign a declaration that they are willing to voluntarily return to their country of origin. Although their asylum claim has been refused, they do not feel safe returning to their country and become destitute rather than claim Section 4.

Decision-making

The standard of decision making at the Home Office is very poor. Restrictions on legal aid has led to a shortage of immigration solicitors and increasing numbers of people seeking asylum are having their claims decided with little or no meaningful legal representation. The New Asylum Model, fully operational since 2007, has meant asylum claims are being decided within a few days or weeks of someone arriving in UK – raising concerns not only about the lack of time lawyers have to prepare cases, but fears that survivors of torture and sexual violence will not have the time needed to disclose their full stories before their claim is decided. Some may win their cases on appeal – others fight for years for justice and protection.

.. the Government is practicing a deliberate policy of destitution …..  we believe that the deliberate use of inhumane treatment against asylum seekers is unacceptable and falls below the requirements of the common law of humanity and of international human rights law…

House of Parliament Joint Committee on Human Rights, March 2007