November  Penpont

Campaigners keep up the pressure on the Home Office to raise asylum support rates

Organisations and individuals continue to write to their MPs calling for an urgent uplift to asylum support rates so people seeking asylum are able to keep themselves safe during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. 

Over 5,377 people have already written to their MPs via Refugee Action’s e-action.

Want to get more involved in the campaign? Get in touch with Emma Birks (emma@asylummatters.org). 

 

The Leader of Glasgow City Council, the City Convenor for Equalities and Glasgow’s seven MPs have written to the Home Secretary to ask questions about asylum accommodation, the support available to people in hotels, and asking for a commitment to ensuring that no-one is left destitute in Glasgow when lockdown measures are eased. You can read the full letter hereand media coverage in the Glasgow Times here. 

David Linden MP (Glasgow East) also managed to get asylum accommodation on the agenda at last week’s Prime Ministers Questions. He called on the Prime Minister to “urgently trigger a full Home Office review into the support being provided to asylum seekers and ensure that they work with key partners in the council so that they are not left destitute once the lockdown is lifted?” 

The Prime Minister replied stating: “The hon. Gentleman draws attention to a very important issue. We will make sure that nobody in this country, let alone asylum seekers, is ill-treated. I shall certainly be investigating the matter to which he refers, but am happy to write to him.”

This intervention follows on from the Home Affairs Select Committee session on asylum accommodation on the 7th May (full transcript now available here) and continued advocacy from Scottish Refugee Council and other partners in Scotland. 
Labour statement on homelessness
A statement signed by the Labour leader and mayors including Andy Burnham and Sadiq Khan highlights that around 5,000 street homeless have been accommodated during the pandemic, as both the government and local authorities sought to protect them from the virus. The statement asks for the Government to provide clarity on the 'Everyone In' policy, including an increase in local authority funding and policy changes for those with no recourse to public funds.The Manchester Evening News report on Labour's statement is here.
Scottish homelessness charities ‘Everyone home’ post-pandemic plan
Nineteen influential charity sector organisations working to end homelessness have presented a joint plan to the Scottish Government based around three key asks that experts and academics believe could permanently end rough sleeping and destitution in Scotland as the country emerges from the pandemic. This was reported in Scottish Housing News here.
 Homeless Link transition plan ‘Everyone in for good’
Homeless Link has published its ‘Everyone in for good’plan, outlining the urgent national and local action required so that nobody is forced to sleep rough after lockdown.

 WE may need to remember all of  this when lockdown is lifted to ensure that people are not forced back onto the streets or sofa surfing.  

All Party Parliamentary Group on Social Integration: Report on Social Isolation

The All Party Parliamentary Group [ APPG] on Social Integration has released a new report looking at social connection during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s a quick rundown of the key findings relating to people seeking asylum: 

• In general, the APPG notes that in a context where many are experiencing extreme social isolation during the pandemic, “social connection needs to be seen as integral to the overall response to COVID-19”. 
• People seeking asylum and those with no recourse to public funds are identified as being particularly vulnerable to social isolation. Other groups include ‘older’ people, people living in single-person households and those with disabilities or illnesses;
• Digital exclusion emerged as one of the major themes of the inquiry. People seeking asylum were identified as less likely to own a computer or tablet and evidence provided by organisations for the inquiry highlighted the impact of a lack of WiFi in asylum accommodation (and accommodation used to house the homeless population more generally). With public libraries and cafes closed, people seeking asylum and homeless people lack access to alternative wifi provision. The APPG recommended that the Home Office reviews access to WiFi in asylum accommodation as soon as is reasonably possible.  
• The report also recommends that local authorities and other support organisations translate relevant information so that those without fluent English can understand services available to them. 

Yvette Cooper MP - the chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee - and Stephen Timms MP - the chair of the Work and Pensions Committee - have jointly written to the Home Secretary asking for clarity on the number of people affected by No Recourse to Public Funds conditions, including undocumented migrants living in the UK. They also request information on the number of people who have applied to have the condition lifted, and the success rate of the applicants. The letter asks for a response from the Home Secretary by Friday 15th May. 
 

Last week, the APPG on Detention wrote to Priti Patel calling for immediate release of everyone from immigration detention. You can read the full letter on Twitter, here.
Refugee Women Connect report 
RWC has published a report and policy briefing on the effects of C19 on forced migrant survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. Their main recommendations are the need for access to public funds, safe and appropriate reporting mechanisms, mental health services and public services (health, policing) without fear of immigration exposure.  
 Lancet Migration report on healthcare access
Lancet Migration has published a policy briefing with recommendations on how the UK Government can ensure migrant and refugee inclusion in the response to Covid-19. 
   
Docs not Cops and Medact health surcharge campaign
Docs Not Cops have produced a great video calling for the Immigration Health Surcharge to be scrapped for everyone. You can support by retweeting, and sharing the video through your channels including on Facebook. 

Migration Exchange report - Covid-19 Impact Assessment Framework
This report from Migration Exchange develops a framework for understanding the risks associated with COVID-19 for different cohorts of people within the immigration system; and identifies a number of key policy considerations that are pertinent for policymakers, public services and non-governmental organisations. 
 
Legal action to extend nursery care for 2 year olds post-pandemic
In March the UK Government issued guidanceconfirming that British-born 2 year olds whose parents have NRPF and who are in receipt of section 17 of the Children Act 1989 will be eligible temporarily for a free place in order to help vulnerable children during the restrictions. The Government has not made this change permanent and it remains uncertain how long the extension will last. Matthew Gold & co. solicitors have issued judicial review proceedings challenging the definition of an eligible child under the 2014 Regulations, that aim to lead to the scheme being extended permanently to all 2 year old children who would meet the economic criteria but for their parents’ lack of status.
 


2. Home Office and Government Developments 

Immigration Bill returns to the House of Commons last week 
The Immigration and Social Security Coordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill returned to the House of Commons for its second reading on Monday 18th May. For more information on the purpose of the Bill, you can check out the updated House of Commons Research Paper,  and briefings from the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants and the Immigration Law Practitioners Association. 
Health surcharge exemption for NHS and care workers
Last week we heard the fantastic news that migrant NHS and care workers will be exempt from the health surcharge. The decision represents a sharp u-turn by the Government
Bereavement scheme extension
In a further u-turn last week, the Government announced that its bereavement scheme - which had offered indefinite leave to remain to the families of some NHS workers who have died during the Covid-19 pandemic but not those of cleaners, porters, carers and many others - was being extended to all NHS workers.
Government funding for food charities to provide meals for those in need
 

3. Interesting reading… 

 powerful stories from migrant women living in Northern Ireland. and  testimony from Sipho Sibanda from Participation and the Practice of Rights (PPR) about her endless campaigning work to end destitution.  

This excellent blog from the chairs of British Red Cross’ Gender Equality Network and refugee women from the VOICES network shines a light on the particular challenges faced by refugee women during lockdown. 

Organisations involved in the Early Action partnershiphave written this super informative piece on how they have adapted their services to meet the needs of refugees and people seeking asylum under lockdown. 

Everyday Activism campaigners Joan and Loraine about their experiences during lockdown, the difficulty of not being allowed to work, and their campaigning with the Lift the Ban coalition. 

• ‘The race to house Britain’s homeless’ charts the path of the ‘Everyone in’ policy and its uncertain future, especially with regard to NRPF.
• This Huffington Post piece highlights how cracks in local authority systems exacerbated by central government policy have left vulnerable homeless migrants fearing for their lives during Covid-19 due to their NRPF status.
• And a good news story from Co Durham where two refugees who fled the war in Syria and settled in County Durham have spent the lockdown manufacturing scrubs and delivering food to vulnerable neighbours.