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346763

	registered interest
	date	27/05/2015
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, with regard to the number of days elapsing between the end of financial support from the UK Border Agency for asylum seekers, and the first receipt of other forms of state financial support from the Department for Work and Pensions, across all cases between 1 January and 31 December 2014, how many cases there were in which the number of days was greater than zero; and what were the figures for (1) the minimum and maximum, (2) the mean and median, (3) the first and third, and (4) the fifth and 95th percentiles.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb
	uin	HL1
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2015 answer text <p>We do not hold information or record data on asylum claimants who have ceased to receive support from the Home Office and gone on to other housing support. The UK Border Agency was abolished in March 2013 and the agency was split into two new organisations: UK Visas and Immigration and Immigration Enforcement.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 10/06/2015 15:56:04 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	4297 label Biography information for Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb

1338327

	registered interest
	date	21/06/2021
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made with resolving issues with the Aspen Card.
	tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
	uin	HL1263
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/07/2021 answer text <p>Fully functioning and tested Aspen cards have been distributed to all service users. The vast majority have activated it and have been using it successfully since the service went live on Monday 24th May 2021.</p><p>Where replacement cards have been requested, they are being actioned swiftly and are being dispatched to service users accordingly.</p><p>Those experiencing issues with their Aspen card were, and still are, entitled to Emergency Cash Payments (ECPs) if in need. Due to this, all support-entitled asylum seekers were able to receive their benefits, either through an Aspen card or cash payments.</p><p>The vast majority of service users have now received and activated their new Aspen card since the service went live on Monday 24th May 2021. These cards are working and being used successfully to make purchases or withdraw funds (dependent on asylum seeker support type).</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford grouped question UIN HL1264 question first answered 05/07/2021 16:24:16 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

1338328

	registered interest
	date	21/06/2021
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many asylum seekers were unable to receive their benefits due to recent issues with the Aspen Card.
	tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
	uin	HL1264
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/07/2021 answer text <p>Fully functioning and tested Aspen cards have been distributed to all service users. The vast majority have activated it and have been using it successfully since the service went live on Monday 24th May 2021.</p><p>Where replacement cards have been requested, they are being actioned swiftly and are being dispatched to service users accordingly.</p><p>Those experiencing issues with their Aspen card were, and still are, entitled to Emergency Cash Payments (ECPs) if in need. Due to this, all support-entitled asylum seekers were able to receive their benefits, either through an Aspen card or cash payments.</p><p>The vast majority of service users have now received and activated their new Aspen card since the service went live on Monday 24th May 2021. These cards are working and being used successfully to make purchases or withdraw funds (dependent on asylum seeker support type).</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford grouped question UIN HL1263 question first answered 05/07/2021 16:24:16 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

1338329

	registered interest
	date	21/06/2021
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many asylum seekers are currently dependent on support from the UK Government.
	tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
	uin	HL1265
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/07/2021 answer text <p>The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of asylum seekers supported by the UK Government.</p><p>These statistics are published on a quarterly basis, with the latest information published 27 May 2021 and can be found at: (please see attached table)</p><p>https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets#asylum-support</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 05/07/2021 16:56:36 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford attachment 1 file name asylum-applications-datasets-mar-2021 (1).xlsx title Asylum and Resettlement Data Sets
	tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

1290187

	registered interest
	date	25/02/2021
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government when they introduced the provision of £39.63 in cash support to those seeking asylum in the UK; and what are the eligibility criteria for that payment.
	tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
	uin	HL13714
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/03/2021 answer text <p>Asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute are provided with accommodation and a weekly allowance to cover their other essential living needs.</p><p>The level of the standard allowance is reviewed each year and adjusted where necessary. As a result of this year’s review the allowance has been raised from £37.75 per week to £39.63 per week. The £39.63 rate took effect from 22 February 2021, although an earlier exceptional temporary increase to £39.60 was implemented from 15 June 2020 pending the outcome of the full review.</p><p>The allowance is reduced if the asylum seeker is accommodated in full-board facilities where some of their essential living needs, for example food and toiletries, are provided in kind.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 10/03/2021 17:36:08 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

1149947

	registered interest
	date	16/10/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria they use to determine whether an applicant for section 4 asylum support should be considered particularly vulnerable; what is the target timescale for an asylum seeker who is deemed to be vulnerable to receive that support under Home Office guidelines; and what was the average time taken for a payment to be made after an application for support by an applicant that met that criteria in the most recent period for which figures are available.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
	uin	HL154
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/10/2019 answer text <p>The Asylum Seekers (Reception Conditions) Regulations 2005 define a vulnerable person as:</p><ul><li>A minor</li><li>A disabled person</li><li>An elderly person</li><li>A pregnant woman</li><li>A person who has been subjected to torture, rape or other serious forms of psychological, physical or sexual violence;</li><li>A person who has had an individual evaluation of his situation that confirms he/she has special needs.</li></ul><p>Accommodation providers are also contractually required to take account of any particular circumstances and vulnerability of those that they accommodate. The definition of vulnerability in the contracts is the same as the one set out in the 2005 Regulations.</p><p>The particular circumstances of other supported asylum seekers and their dependants who may have other particular vulnerabilities are also carefully considered, for example because they have care needs or health problems that require a need for a specific type of accommodation or accommodation in a particular location. Further details regarding these policies can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-accommodation-requests-policy" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-accommodation-requests-policy</a></p><p>We aim to decide most of these applications within 5 working days, or 2 days of the Home Office reviewing the application if the person is vulnerable, but some take longer because of the need to make further enquiries to establish that the person is eligible to receive the support.</p><p>The Home Office monitors closely the performance of asylum support application decision making and has a range of targets for processing support applications depending on the nature of the application being made. However information on processing times is not recorded in a format suitable for publication. We are currently in the process of embedding a new system and reporting tools and once this has been implemented we will review our reporting processes,.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 30/10/2019 17:56:56 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford attachment 1 file name Allocation-Of-Accommodation-v5_0.pdf title Accommodation Requests policy
	tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

1124892

	registered interest
	date	07/05/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether funding currently dedicated to asylum matters will be ring-fenced following the UK's departure from the EU.
	tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
	uin	HL15567
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>There are currently no plans to apply a ring fence to asylum payments in this financial year.</p><p>Any new restrictions to departmental spending would be agreed with HM Treasury. Any further changes would form part of the Spending Review discussions taking place this year for financial year 2020-21 onwards.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 21/05/2019 15:29:48 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

1145333

	registered interest
	date	06/09/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of applicants for support under section 4(2) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, in the last year for which records are held, were asked to provide further information to support their request, broken down by the reason further information was required.
	tabling member printed	Lord Watson of Invergowrie
	uin	HL17784
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2019 answer text <p>The information requested would require a manual trawl of records of all service users receiving section 4 support and could only be provided at a dis-proportionate cost.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 08/10/2019 11:16:37 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	1241 label Biography information for Lord Watson of Invergowrie

416988

	registered interest
	date	07/09/2015
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will give an assurance that no asylum seeker, whatever their status, will be denied the necessary support to avoid destitution.
	tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
	uin	HL1908
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/09/2015 answer text <p>We are committed to fulfilling the UK’s international obligations to meet minimum standards for asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute until their asylum claim has finally been determined. These minimum standards are met through the support provided under section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, usually in the form of accommodation and a weekly cash allowance of £36.95 to cover essential living needs.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 21/09/2015 15:38:13 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

768559

	registered interest
	date	11/10/2017
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government by whom, and when, the sum of £36.95 for asylum seekers' cash support was determined; and whether they have any plans to increase it.
	tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
	uin	HL1909
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/10/2017 answer text <p>Asylum seekers and their dependants who would otherwise be destitute are provided with a cash allowance and accommodation if they need it. The Home Office regularly reviews the level of the cash allowance to ensure that it is sufficient to cover their essential living needs.</p><p> </p><p>The current allowance of £36.95 per week for each person in a household has been in place since 6 April 2015 and was set following a review that took place earlier that year. There was a further review in 2016 and a report of the outcome was published in March 2017: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-review-of-cash-allowance-paid-to-asylum-seekers" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-review-of-cash-allowance-paid-to-asylum-seekers</a></p><p> </p><p>The report sets out the methodology used in the annual review to assess the adequacy of the allowance, which has been accepted by the courts.</p><p> </p><p>A further review is currently ongoing. Whether there will be any changes in the level of the allowance depends on the outcome of that review.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 24/10/2017 16:10:16 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford attachment 1 file name Report-on-review-of-cash-allowance-paid-to-asylum-seekers-2016 (1).pdf title Report on review of cash allowances:asylum seekers
	tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno