Report on review of weekly allowances paid to asylum seekers and failed asylum seekers: 2021
Updated 24 May 2024
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Report on review of weekly allowances paid to asylum seekers and failed asylum seekers: 2021
April 2022
Introduction
The Home Office ensures asylum seekers are not left destitute by providing appropriate support under section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (‘the 1999 Act’). Section 95 support is also provided to failed asylum seekers who have dependants under the age of 18 in their household at the time their asylum claim and any appeal is finally rejected (for as long as the youngest child remains under 18). Failed asylum seekers are supported under section 4(2) of the 1999 Act if they would otherwise be destitute and meet conditions set out in the Immigration and Asylum (Provision of Accommodation to Failed Asylum-Seekers) Regulations 2005.
Support provided under section 95 of the 1999 Act is usually provided in the form of free, furnished accommodation (with no utility bills or Council Tax to pay) and a weekly cash allowance to cover the asylum seeker’s other essential living needs. Free access to healthcare and schooling is also provided. Those provided with support under section 4(2) are accommodated in the same way as those supported under section 95 and also receive a cashless weekly allowance to cover their essential living needs, through a debit card (the “Aspen Card”) which can be used to buy food and other essential items at retail outlets that accept visa transactions.
The level of the cash allowance is reviewed regularly to ensure it is adequate.
This report sets out the findings of our 2021 review. After careful consideration and for the reasons the report goes on to explain, the standard weekly allowance provided in respect to each supported individual (asylum seekers, failed asylum seekers and any dependants) will be increased from £39.63 to £40.85 per person. The change will be implemented through an amendment to the Asylum Support Regulations 2000.
Consultation with NGOs
As part of the usual review process, submissions were invited from members of the National Asylum Stakeholder Forum (NASF).
A total of 19 NASF members were contacted and 12 responses were received from the following organisations: Asylum Link Merseyside, Asylum Matters, Displaced People in Action, Doncaster Conversation Club, Freedom from Torture, Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group, Helen Bamber Foundation, Oasis Church Welcome Group, Refugee Council, Refugee Women Connect, Sanctuary Hosting and Thousand 4£1000.
Overall, most of the responses argued for:
a. the rate of asylum support to be raised to at least 70% of mainstream benefits
b. the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s work on the Minimum Income Standard (MIS) to be considered as an alternative approach
c. travel and communications to be treated as essential living needs; amounts allocated for these to be reassessed and increased considering the shift during lockdown and beyond where access to many services is now online to enable a minimum level of participation in social, cultural and religious life.
Other responses referred to the difficulty asylum seekers face in navigating their new environment and being able to identify the cheaper supermarkets and outlets. There were also some reports of individuals needing to travel relatively long distances from their homes to do their shopping, thus incurring travel costs and being unable to bulk-buy.
Some responses also highlighted that the assessment of the level of the weekly allowance is based on the needs of able-bodied individuals, making no allowances for those with additional mental or physical health needs; there is no consideration of individual dietary requirements and no allowance for when things go wrong for example, loss of cash or loss of equipment.
The Home Office’s position remains that mainstream social security benefits are not set according to the “essential living needs” test and are generally required to cover a broader range of costs, including paying for utilities and travel and other expenses incurred in looking for work. For this reason, we do not consider that aligning asylum support allowances with the levels of universal credit or other mainstream benefits is appropriate.
The data contained within the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s work on the MIS is based upon the views of members of the general public on what items and services are needed by a household to reach a socially acceptable minimum standard of living and not conducted with reference to ‘essential living needs’ of asylum seekers and their dependants. Therefore, we do not consider this approach as an appropriate option.
In relation to travel and communication, we continue to consider these are not essential needs in themselves, but accept they may be necessary in limited circumstances to enable other needs to be met, including those related to maintaining interpersonal relationships and a minimum level of participation in social, cultural and religious life. We therefore accept it is reasonable to make some allowance for these in the overall cash allowance provided to asylum seekers to meet these and other occasional incidental travel needs. Any supported individual who has exceptional needs, including those related to travel, over and above of the average person, is able to apply for additional funds.
The review methodology
Overview
The level of the allowance given to those supported under section 95 and section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 is reviewed each year to ensure it covers their “essential living needs”. The review uses an assessment methodology that was established following a judicial review in 2014 that found some shortcomings in the way the level of the allowance was previously set.
The methodology involves:
a) identifying all essential living needs that are not covered in some other way (for example through the provision of in-kind support); and
b) assessing the amount of money the average asylum seeker needs to meet each need.
Full details of the items that are considered essential are set out in these reports.
The report of the 2020 review sets out full details of the amount of money assessed at the time as necessary to meet each of those needs.
In summary, however, the cost of meeting food needs was taken from Office of National Statistics (ONS) information about the amount of money spent on the item by people in the lowest 10% income group in the UK. The ONS figure was adjusted to provide a figure for a single person and to take account of expenditure in takeaways, which is recorded separately. CPI inflation was then added to account for the time lag between the point the ONS information was gathered and the point at which the review took place.
Costs related to meeting all other needs - clothes, toiletries, household cleaning and laundry items, non-prescription medicines and those related to travel and communication, were based on market research.
As illustrated in the table below, the total amount of cash assessed as meeting all essential living needs of the average adult asylum seeker was £39.63 per week.
| Categories of “need” | Cost |
|---|---|
| Food and non-alcoholic drinks | £26.89 |
| Toiletries | £0.69 |
| Non-prescription medicines | £0.35 |
| Laundry/toilet paper | £0.43 |
| Clothing and footwear | £3.01 |
| Travel | £4.70 |
| Communications | £3.56 |
| Subtotal | £12.74 |
| Total | £39.63 |
The 2021 review
We have carefully considered the appropriate means of adjusting the £39.63 amount in order to reflect changes in the costs of living since 2020.
After careful consideration, we have decided that the allowance should be uprated by applying the September 2021 rate of Consumer Price Index (CPI) of 3.1%. CPI reports are produced by the Office for National Statistics and use recognised economic principles to measure increases in the cost of living. Furthermore, the use of the CPI rate for September of the relevant year is a common public sector method used to adjust mainstream benefits and other social entitlements to take account of rises in costs of living.
Applying the 3.1% CPI rate for September 2021 to the current allowance of £39.63 results in an increase to £40.85.
Supporting those in full-board accommodation facilities
Individuals living in full-board accommodation are currently issued a weekly payment of £8 to cover essential living items that are not met by their accommodation provider (clothing, non-prescription medicine and travel).
This £8 allowance will also be raised in line with the 3.1% CPI rate for September 2021, resulting in an increase to £8.24. Needs related to other essential items will continue to be met by the accommodation provider under existing arrangements.
Payments for families
Our approach to reviewing support for families with children has regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children as required by section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009.
In 2015 the Home Office introduced a flat rate payment system for every person in the household (i.e. that each family member would receive the same amount assessed as necessary to meet the needs of a single adult, now £40.85 for those in dispersal accommodation), subject to some small additions for very young children (£5 for those aged under one and £3 for those aged one-three).
The rationale for the decision was that the previous payment rates resulted in families receiving much higher levels of financial support than was necessary to cover their essential living needs.
The flat rate payment system has been carefully reviewed to ensure it provides for the essential living needs of each individual in an asylum seeker’s household, including their children.
The needs of children are not identical to adults, but detailed assessments since 2015 have shown the costs of meeting those needs tend, if anything, to be lower than the costs of meeting the needs of an adult. The flat-payment system therefore results in all family groups, regardless of their size or composition, receiving sufficient funds to cover their essential living needs.
Additionally, economies of scale (especially in respect to spending on food) mean there is in practice a considerable leeway. ONS data, among all income groups, shows that expenditure on food declines considerably per person in multi-person households.
The children of asylum seekers also have the same access to primary and secondary education as UK Citizens and also access to a range of related entitlements available to those whose parents are on low incomes – e.g. free school meals and free travel to and from school. It is therefore unnecessary to make provision for these matters within the weekly allowance.
Maternity grant
A maternity grant will continue to be available to help meet some of the additional costs of new babies. The grant is £300 for an asylum seeker supported under section 95 and £250 for a failed asylum seeker supported under section 4. The difference is in reality, however, not significant as for those on section 4 support the costs of registering the child’s birth (travel and registration fee) are paid separately, whereas for a section 95 case the individual needs to meet these costs from the £300 grant.
Conclusion
Like all people, asylum seekers and failed asylum seekers need to budget appropriately and plan their expenditure according to the income available to them. It is unlikely they will always spend the same amount of money on the same essential items each week.
However, for the reasons set out in this report the Home Office is satisfied that a payment of £40.85 per week for each supported individual and any dependant in their household is sufficient to cover their average essential living needs.
Any individuals who have exceptional needs over and above those of the average supported asylum seeker or their dependants, will continue to be able to apply for additional funds.