Report says asylum seeking families pushed below poverty threshold as Government asylum support reassessment deadline looms after court ruling
A new report by the Children's Society says low levels of UK asylum support are pushing children into poverty.
You can read the 7-page report, From persecution to destitution: Section 95 asylum support, here.
The report says support rates for families seeking asylum have not increased since 2011, representing a cut in real terms of almost 7.5 per cent during a time when food prices have increased by 13 per cent.
The Children's Society says this system of support pushes children and their families well below the Government's poverty threshold, with some now living on little more than a third of what would be needed to escape poverty.
In its recommendations, the Children's Society calls on the Government to increase asylum support rates to at least 70 per cent of mainstream benefits, and increase them annually in line with inflation.
Matthew Reed, Chief Executive of the Children's Society, was quoted in a press release as saying: "The UK is pushing children seeking safety from violence and persecution into poverty. Instead of giving them and their families the help they need, they are being forced to live on shockingly low-levels of support. Many are unable even to afford the most basic necessities for their children."
As noted by the Children's Society, the report comes ahead of a Government reassessment of asylum support rates following the High Court ruling in Refugee Action, R (On the Application Of) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2014] EWHC 1033 (Admin).
In the judgment, the Court found that the Home Secretary failed to take reasonable steps to gather sufficient information to enable her to make a rational judgment in setting asylum support rates and ordered her to reach a new decision on the level of support by 9 August.
The Children's Society's Matthew Reed said: "The government has a chance to change this and make sure that all refugee children have what they need for a decent start in life. It is critical that the government does not miss this opportunity."