28 Jan – 1 Feb 2013
Asylum destitution in the UK hit the headlines this week, following a Parliamentary Inquiry and report by the Children’s Society into Section 4 Support – the regime asylum seekers are forced into, banned as they are from working or accessing mainstream support.
Here’s the round up of what caught our eye this week. Feel free to let us know what stood out for you in the Comments below.
‘Asylum-support system is pushing families into severe poverty, say MPs’
30 Jan 2013, The Guardian, Amelia Gentleman.
Thousands of children and their families who have sought refuge in the UK have been pushed into severe poverty by low levels of asylum support, a parliamentary inquiry has revealed, concluding that the support system for asylum seekers is in urgent need of reform…
‘Lives of destitution’
18 Jan 2013, Inside Housing, Keith Cooper.
Destitution and homelessness are all too often the first greeting for refugees entitled to housing support. Keith Cooper investigates why the UK’s newest citizens are being forced to survive on handouts and why many families are a short step away from tragedy…
‘Evicting asylum seekers? We just follow orders’
14 Dec 2012, The Guardian, Zoe Williams.
It emerged on Monday that a pregnant asylum seeker had been evicted on the day that her baby was induced; that the housing subcontractor, Target, knew she was set to give birth on that day; and that G4S (wouldn’t you know it), the main contractor, had an excuse waiting ready. “Neither G4S nor our subcontractors can remove an individual from their housing without the prior approval of UKBA” (the UK Border Agency)…
‘For failed asylum seekers, life on section 4 is a nightmare worse than Kafka’
30 Jan 2013, The Guardian, Zoe Williams.
The findings of that inquiry are chilling to read. A family slept for months on the floor of a mosque. A woman had twins prematurely, lost one and had to walk to and from the hospital to keep appointments for the other, carrying the baby and an oxygen cylinder. A woman gave birth while her benefits were delayed, and had to carry her newborn home in her arms, because she didn’t have buggy or any money for a bus. Another woman died of a brain condition brought on by being HIV positive, and her baby starved to death…
‘Asylum-seekers ‘forced into prostitution’ by support system failures’
30 Jan 2013, The Independent, Charlotte Philby.
Child asylum seekers are living in destitiution in Britain – with their mothers forced into prositution – because of failures in the support system, a Parliamentary report has found…
‘Asylum benefits delays criticised’
30 Jan 2013, BBC, Dominic Casciani
Too many genuine refugees are becoming destitute because of administrative delays in helping them to settle in the UK, a cross-party inquiry has found…
Detained in the UK 
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