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T he Child Poverty Action Group says a plan to replace backdated income support for refugees with a system of loans may breach the Geneva Convention on Refugees.

The charity says the convention stipulates that a country must treat refugees in the same way it does its own nationals in relation to social security benefits. Under the present system asylum seekers are not entitled to income support but, if they are granted refugee status, it is backdated to when they arrived.

Kate Green, the charity’s chief executive, said the government’s plan, which will be piloted in one area, was “grossly unfair” and would increase debt and poverty.