Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 14
14
Rejected
Paragraph: 110
Inadequate asylum support payments necessitate linking rates to mainstream social security benefits.
Conclusion
£40 per week was clearly inadequate to meet the essential living needs of people seeking asylum in the UK. Women, including those with children, face particular difficulties and near-impossible choices about how to provide for themselves and their families. It is unsurprising that the High Court ordered an immediate increase to £45—the “minimum legal action required” for the Home Secretary to meet her legal duty. It is clear that a long-term solution is required after many years of below inflation increases to asylum support have left people facing severe poverty. We believe the simplest, fairest and most sustainable solution is to link the rate of asylum support to that of the main annually uprated mainstream social security benefit. In the context of the asylum system, this would also be relatively inexpensive, at a likely initial annual cost in the low tens of millions of pounds.
Government Response Summary
The government rejects the committee's implicit suggestion to link asylum support to Universal Credit, stating its position remains that Universal Credit is not set according to the 'essential living needs' test but to 'help with basic living costs'.
Paragraph Reference:
110
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
In relation to the recommendations at paragraphs 110 and 111, our position remains that Universal Credit is not set according to the “essential living needs” test but to ‘help with basic living costs’. UC ge