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833636

	registered interest
	date	30/01/2018
	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 aid is available for destitute asylum seekers who are not allowed to work and are not entitled to benefits.
	tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
	uin	HL5252
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2018 answer text <p>Asylum seekers and their dependents who would otherwise be destitute are provided with a weekly cash allowance and free accommodation.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 09/02/2018 12:39:20 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

1331022

	registered interest
	date	08/06/2021
	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 assessment they have made of delays in the issuing of the Aspen payment cards to asylum seekers.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of Southwark
	uin	HL893
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2021 answer text <p>The PrePaid Financial Services (PFS) solution is a well-established Mastercard pre-paid card used by organisations across the UK as well as abroad and has undergone over 5 months of rigorous testing to integrate with Home Office systems.</p><p>Service users were notified of the transition in advance and a significant majority of service users have received their Aspen card and successfully activated. The service is functioning as expected for those who have activated their card. The cards are fully working, withdrawals and purchases are being made and the automated IVR activation line is operating well.</p><p>Transitions of this nature are complex, and plans to mitigate anticipated issues were, and remain, in place. Cash payments were made available in emergencies. We will continue to work with the remainder of service users to activate their cards and ensure they are supported throughout.</p><p><br> Our main focus is to ensure all remaining service users have an activated card so the new service can be accessed and support payments received.</p><p>As part of our management of service contracts continuous improvement assessments will be factored in throughout the contract term and implemented accordingly.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 22/06/2021 16:16:12 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	4345 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of Southwark

887329

	registered interest
	date	19/04/2018
	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 assessment they have made of the extent to which the increase in February of the standard allowance for asylum seekers from £36.95 a week to £37.75 a week is sufficient to meet living costs.
	tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
	uin	HL7126
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/05/2018 answer text <p>The assessment is set out in a report published in March 2018, the report outlines the standard allowances for asylum seekers and for convienance the report is attached and can also be found at: <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> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 02/05/2018 12:42:45 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_-_2017_-_final.._-v1.pdf title Report on Review of cash allowance-asylum 2017
	tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

1218586

	registered interest
	date	29/06/2020
	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 assessment they have made of the policy to withdraw section 95 support from asylum seekers when they are given temporary accommodation with food.
	tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
	uin	HL6258
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/07/2020 answer text <p>There has been no change to policy.</p><p>Asylum seekers receiving support under section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 and in dispersed accommodation are generally provided with accommodation and a cash allowance to cover other essential living needs.</p><p> </p><p>For those in full board section 98 Initial Accommodation, hotels or hostels, essential living expenses are covered and they do not therefore receive a cash allowance. Where section 98 accommodation is self-catered they will receive a cash amount to purchase their own food.</p><p>As a result of the Covid-19 crisis a higher proportion of asylum seekers than usual are being accommodated in full-board hostels and hotels.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 13/07/2020 16:29:00 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

1330248

	registered interest
	date	07/06/2021
	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 assessment they have made of the failure to pay benefits to asylum seekers due to contractual changes to the ASPEN card payments system; and what steps they will take to ensure that this does not happen again.
	tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
	uin	HL803
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2021 answer text <p>The PrePaid Financial Services (PFS) solution is a well-established Mastercard pre-paid card that is used by organisations across the UK as well as abroad and has undergone over 5 months of rigorous testing to integrate with Home Office systems.</p><p>Service users were notified of the transition in advance and a significant majority of service users have received their Aspen card and successfully activated it. For those who have done this the service is functioning as expected. The cards are fully working, withdrawals and purchases are being made and the automated IVR activation line is operating well.</p><p>Transitions of this nature are complex, and plans to mitigate anticipated issues were, and remain, in place. Cash payments were made available in emergencies. We will continue to work with the remainder of service users to activate their cards and ensure they are supported throughout.</p><p>As part of our management of service contracts continuous improvement assessments will be factored in throughout the contract term and implemented accordingly.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 21/06/2021 15:51:48 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

1189746

	registered interest
	date	21/04/2020
	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 plans they have to (1) increase asylum support rates in line with Universal Credit, and (2) provide further support to asylum seekers to assist with essential living requirements, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
	tabling member printed	Lord Judd
	uin	HL3263
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/05/2020 answer text <p>We are currently reviewing the level of the cash allowances, as we do each year, to ensure that they remain capable of meeting the essential living needs of asylum seekers. There are no plans to increase the level of the cash allowances to Universal Credit levels.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 05/05/2020 16:06:27 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	1660 label Biography information for Lord Judd

1196847

	registered interest
	date	18/05/2020
	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 plans they have to make Wi-Fi available for people living in all forms of asylum accommodation so that they can contact essential mental health support services, currently only offered online, during the COVID-19 pandemic without having to spend any portion of their £37.50 weekly allowance on such data.
	tabling member printed	Lord Judd
	uin	HL4558
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/06/2020 answer text <p>Asylum seekers receiving support under section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 199 are generally provided with accommodation and a cash allowance to cover other essential living needs. The level of the cash allowance provided take into account communication needs, including the cost of buying and using a mobile phone. As a result of the Covid-19 crisis a higher proportion of asylum seekers than usual are being accommodated in full-board hostels and hotels. We are looking at practical ways of providing internet access to this group and other ways to enable them to communicate effectively.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 02/06/2020 15:29:32 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	1660 label Biography information for Lord Judd

1187941

	registered interest
	date	25/03/2020
	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 plans they have to suspend all terminations of asylum support temporarily as part of their response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
	uin	HL2955
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/04/2020 answer text <p>Following public health guidance, we have put in place a number of measures to support people in the asylum system who are affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, including working closely with providers to make sure the most vulnerable people within the system receive the support they need.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 08/04/2020 14:02:20 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

1195232

	registered interest
	date	12/05/2020
	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 plans they have to increase the level of asylum support in line with the COVID-19 related uplift for Universal Credit.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Coussins
	uin	HL4235
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/05/2020 answer text <p>We are currently reviewing the level of the cash allowances, as we do each year, to ensure that they remain capable of meeting the essential living needs of asylum seekers. The level of the cash allowances is not linked to Universal Credit.</p><p>Home Office has put in place a range of measures to support those in the asylum system who are affected by the covid-19 outbreak. We continue to monitor the situation closely and are making adjustments to our processes and procedures where necessary and appropriate</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 27/05/2020 15:25:56 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	3829 label Biography information for Baroness Coussins

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