Medical Malpractice

Asylum seekers, accommodation and benefits?

Where does the information come from that asylum seekers are either entitled to, or given, housing and benefits on entry to the UK? In my experience of working with asylum seekers, those who are accommodated in anything other than a hostel/ bedsit are unaccompanied minors who become the responsibility of the local authority. Asylum seekers also have NO RECOURSE TO PUBLIC FUNDS. This means they survive on food vouchers provided by the National Asylum Support Service (NASS). THEY ARE NOT entitled to income support, JSA, or any other 'benefit' as you and I would know them. Of course once their status becomes 'leave to remain' this changes but then they are no longer ASYLUM SEEKERS. Where does this confusion come from? Is it tabloid press propaganda?

Public Comments

1. its good to have someone to blame for our failures. Someone dark and strange. perfect, blame it on him and lets go play some darts. ************************* Easy to forget that someone who requests asylum does so in fear for their lives against a barbaric opressing country. where do they come? britain and france. Why? CUz they are the CHAMPIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS ON THIS PLANET!! Thats something to be proud off. No go out and hug an asylum seeker! SHAME ON YOOOUUUU
2. Certain right wing media (I'm looking at you, Daily Mail) do their best to push their own version of a story, whether or not it has any facts whatsoever. Case in point is the purposeful blurring of the difference between 'immigrants' and 'illegal immigrants'. I've met enough people who call Polish people illegal immigrants, but these are the same people who get all their ideas from reading The Sun, who use emotive but incorrect adjectives like "swamped" and "overrun". Some people don't want to hear other things like the fact that 'legal' immigration is a net economic benefit to the country. Economic migration keeps us competitive, increases tax revenue for the Treasury and helps combat the serious problem of an aging population. Saying that, on our street is a Somalian family, new to the area and new to England (they don't speak English as I discovered recently). They don't work as I know they're home all day. As such, I'd like to know how they managed to get themselves into a semi-detached three bed house (plus a car). I'd imagine they're not paying the same rent I am. There maybe a good answer but if others see that, they might well think the council gave them a free house.
3. Part of the problem is whether we are talking about genuine asylum seekers or the economic migrants we have been flooded with over the last ten years. Whether they are entitled to benefits the real question is the cost to Britain in dealing with them and the length of time it takes to deal with their cases.
4. Wow Barbie, you are telling me something I didn't know. I thought that was the whole arguement against asylum seekers. I guess its xenophobia.
5. It's classic scapegoating. We need to have someone 'other' to blame for all the ills in society, so we don't have to look too hard at ourselves. It happened in Germany in the 1930's and in Bosnia and Rwanda in the 1990's. The tabloids are partly to blame but so are the ignorant bigots who believe everything they read in the press.
6. I susgest you re research your facts because some of the points you made are not true.
7. I agree with joepublic in that it's necessary to highlight the difference between genuine asylum seekers and economic migrants. My problem though is this. Many of these people who claim asylum have come from very distant countries. In all probability, they did not come directly into the UK but instead would have travelled though other European states so why did they not claim asylum at the first port of call. Why come to Britain at all? You know why, because it's do-gooder apologists who have made this country into the soft-touch it is today and why we are being swamped by immigrants who do little to contribute to British society other than take low-paid jobs that benefit scroungers should be made to do anyway. Just my opinion, but there it is.
8. Yes, apparently they all get free mountain bikes, casserole dishes and slippers. I blame the Daily Mail.
9. i don't know where you got this information from as i know that they get money to buy a car and are top for housing where i live we have no end there is no houses for our own my daughter had to move to Cambridge to find some where to live and how come they are all at the social security office getting hand outs then going to the supermarket for drink
10. I don't know why the UK is always giving out about asylum seekers or refugees, here in Ireland they get much more benefits than in the UK, from the day they arrive here they are entitled to all the benefits (including housing) that Irish Nationals are entitled to. Our Country is much smaller than yours with a much lower population but we can still manage to support on average an influx of over 1000 new refugees per month. You don't hear us giving out or whingeing all the time, in fact we are quite happy to help, as most of these people are fleeing from countries that oppress and kill them because they can. Each human has a right to live anywhere on this planet as it does not belong to any man. http://migration.ucc.ie/asylumhousing.htm And an example of how people can adapt and bring good to the community: http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2115297,00.html whereas it took the US nearly 300 years to achieve the same thing. God, I love being Irish !.