News

• Government wins asylum appeal

Local authorities and voluntary organisations have warned that asylum seekers will be forced to live on the streets following the government’s decision to tighten immigration laws, writes Clare Jerrom.

Under section 55 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act, asylum applicants will only be eligible for support if they can prove they applied for asylum ‘as soon as reasonably practicable’, and that they can meet the criteria for destitution.

The Refugee Council believes asylum seekers will be expected to apply at a port immediately on entry into the country.

Under section 57 of the act, the home secretary can also withhold support from the National Asylum Support Service for all in-country asylum applicants who are unable to account for how they came to the UK, detail their circumstances such as how they have been living in the UK so far, and do not co-operate with authorities.

Families with children are an exception to the new restrictions to in-country support, asylum seekers with special needs will continue to get support under the National Assistance Act 1948 and children are helped under the Children Act 1989.

Home office minister Beverley Hughes said: "It is a reasonable expectation that desperate people fleeing for their lives will claim asylum as soon as they can, and we will continue to support these people in the same way we do now."

"However we are determined to tackle abuse and these measures send a clear signal across the world that the asylum system must be used for its proper purpose," she added.

The latest official figures show that 46,160, or 65 per cent of successful claims, in 2001 were made by in-country applicants and not at port of entry.

A Shelter spokesperson said: "You cannot expect someone fleeing persecution to have an intimate knowledge of British law. They are not likely to know that they have to claim as soon as possible."

But with NASS withdrawing support from this group, who will support them? Not local authorities, according to John Ransford, the LGA spokesperson on social affairs, health and housing.

He claimed the legislation has "disempowered" local authorities, and if they supported asylum seekers after NASS said they were ineligible, they would be "acting beyond the law".

However, Peter Gilroy, chairperson of the Association of Directors of Social Services asylum taskforce, believes local authorities will be affected in a number of ways. Firstly, in a letter to Beverley Hughes on 23 December, he highlighted that final guidance on the new legal situation had not been presented to local authorities, even though the law was to be implemented on 8 January.

"It leaves our staff vulnerable when training has not been put in place which is normal practice on any new legislation," he said.

Gilroy added that he was "convinced" there will be operational implications and costs on local government.

The major areas of concern include:-

- more adult asylum seekers claiming to be children

- more asylum seekers entering the country with children who they pretend are theirs

- more asylum seekers claiming to have special needs to access mental health or learning difficulties services

- more destitute asylum seekers and a subsequent increase in destitution-related crime

and the possibility that local authorities will experience more judicial challenges on their failure to provide support

In a separate letter to fellow local authorities, Gilroy added that the increased presentations of asylum seekers as children in need or as vulnerable adults would perhaps be "beyond the capacity of our assessment and provider services, let alone our budgets".

The voluntary sector has also voiced concerns. A spokesperson for Shelter said: "Someone has to provide these people with services, and if there is no support from the government, they will become destitute and the voluntary sector is likely to provide services."

A Crisis spokesperson added that it was impossible for homelessness organisations to "fill the hole" left by the legislation. "When so much good work has been done to tackle social exclusion, to make the amendment and risk a rise in rough sleeping means the left hand is not working with the right hand."

A number of voluntary organisations including the Refugee Council, Maternity Alliance, Oxfam and Refugee Action have joined force to express "deep concern" over the legislation, and branded the implementation "a retrograde step".

"The measure will cause homelessness and could force many asylum applicants onto the streets, undermining government strategies tackling rough sleeping, promoting social cohesion and reducing exclusion."

Many of the organisations will be forced to deal with the consequences of the new measure, a joint statement said. They aim to provide advice and basic living needs.

"But all of us are very clear that whatever we do will be painfully inadequate," the statement said. "We cannot – should not – be expected to provide food and shelter to refugees waiting for the government to recognise their asylum claims."

"That is a national responsibility that must not be shirked."