The problem with asylum in the UK is a system that doesn’t work, not the people trapped in it
Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, announced an overhaul of the UK’s asylum system, declaring it “out of control” and “unfair” last November.
Her measures included making refugee status temporary, ending guaranteed housing and benefit support for asylum seekers, creating new capped safe and legal routes into the UK and overhauling the legal system to end multiple appeals.
Critics have declared her approach as “dystopian” and “inhumane”, while others see it as the starting point to ending an immigration crisis caused by illegal migration, a huge backlog of cases and the issue of how to house asylum seekers.
So, is the Home Office unfair on asylum seekers? Former home secretary David Blunkett, former asylum seeker Gulwali Passarlay and the Refugee Council’s Renae Mann give their perspectives.
Those of us who work with people seeking asylum know how unfairly they are treated under an asylum system that simply doesn’t function. People who have fled war and torture are forced to wait years for an outcome, many refugees are pushed into homelessness by a lack of support, and desperate families are kept separated.
Analysis by the National Audit Office recently found that over half of people who applied for asylum almost three years ago still don’t have an outcome. In our frontline work at Refugee Council, we see time and time again how much those people want to contribute to this country. But they are not allowed to legally work, and instead left in limbo when they could be bringing their skills to our NHS, our care homes, or our high streets.
The Government has been driving down the backlog of initial asylum applications, but poor-quality decision-making is pushing people straight into a new one.
Right now, more than 90,000 men, women and children – twice as many as last year – are unable to move on with their lives as they wait to appeal the Government’s decision to deny them asylum.
Short-term solutions, like using hotels to house this backlog of people, are clearly failing too. Those hotels have become flashpoints for division and they are costing the taxpayer billions. Families can be moved miles away at the drop of a hat, leaving children unable to find places at schools and their education disrupted, often for months on end. Military sites are another insufficient quick fix that will further isolate people and actually cost more than hotels.
This constant instability is unfair to people who have already been forced to leave behind their homes due to war or persecution.
Even when people are granted asylum, policies create further barriers to integration. When somebody is found to be a refugee, they currently only have 28 days before they must leave their state-supported accommodation. This should be a moment of joy for people, but instead a rug is pulled from under them almost immediately and financial support is cut off.
Imagine having to start from scratch like that in a strange new country after escaping torture by the Taliban in Afghanistan or seeing family members killed in civil war in Sudan. Our team has witnessed first-hand the difference it makes to simply extend that transition period and offer real support to find work while refugees still have an address, instead of being pushed into destitution and homelessness, exacerbating trauma and putting more strain on local services.
One of the most cruel changes the Government made this year was suspending family reunion visas, which allowed newly recognised refugees to bring their immediate family to safety in the UK. This was one of the only safe and legal routes available, and in the year before its suspension, nine out of 10 visas were granted to women and children.
We know that it is vital for integration that refugees have their families with them, as it allows them to settle into education or employment with emotional support. Now our clients have seen their hopes of family reunion crushed. Like Ali, from Gaza, who was granted refugee status in September and is desperate to bring his wife and two young daughters to safety in the UK. The children now face spending the winter months in a leaking tent in southern Gaza.
These policies don’t represent us as a country – Britain has always prided itself on giving people safety and a warm welcome. We still see this pride every day in local communities, faith groups and our own fantastic volunteers who go out of their way to support people who have fled conflict and oppression, whether that’s helping them with their English or sharing hot dinners with families in crisis.
The problem with asylum in the UK is a system that doesn’t work, not the people trapped in it. We simply need faster and fairer decision-making, as well as proper support for people starting their own independent lives here. That would allow refugees to play their part and contribute positively to the communities around them.
Renae Mann is the Executive Director of Services at Refugee Council
Perspectives
Is the Home Office unfair on Asylum Seekers?