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1219702

registered interest
date	01/07/2020
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 whether they expect to complete the annual review of cash allowances paid to asylum seekers by the end of July; and if not, when they expect to complete the review.
tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
uin	HL6365
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2020 answer text <p>We have been reviewing the level of the cash allowances provided to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute, as we do each year to ensure that they remain capable of meeting their essential living needs (the legal test).</p><p> </p><p>As a result of this work, the standard allowance has been raised to £39.60 per week from £37.75 per week, an increase of around 5%. This increase is significantly higher than the current general rate of inflation, which Office for National Statistics data shows was only 0.5% in the 12 months period to May.</p><p> </p><p>Confirmatory work, including taking account of possible Covid 19 impacts, is ongoing and the result of the full review will be published indue course.</p><p> </p><p>The UK has a generous record in supporting asylum seekers. Last year, we made around 20,000 grants of asylum or protection (one of the higher figures in Europe), as well as offered protection to 3,000 Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children – the highest number of any country in Europe. In addition, we have directly resettled around 20,000 people from the most dangerous areas of the world (especially Syrians) in the UK over the last 5 years. Finally, we spend around £14 billion per year in Overseas Aid, helping millions of people around the world. This is the highest amount of any country in Europe and we are the only G7 country to meet the 0.7% of GNI Overseas Aid target.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 15/07/2020 16:42:48 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

1202665

registered interest
date	10/06/2020
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	Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 12 May (HL4183), what proportion of the increase of 26p a day in asylum support is attributable to the additional costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, such as those arising from increased hygiene needs.
tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
uin	HL5527
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2020 answer text <p>We review the level of financial support provided to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute annually, using a methodology that has been in place since 2014 and which the courts have agreed is rational and lawful. The methodology takes account of the costs of food, clothes, toiletries and other items.</p><p> </p><p>The standard weekly allowance has been raised to £39.60 from £37.75, an increase of around 5%, because the methodology showed this is now the amount the average asylum seeker needs to meet their essential living needs. This increase is considerably higher than current year to year rise in general inflation, which was reported to be 0.8% in April.</p><p> </p><p>This allowance is only one part of the package of support provided. We also provide free accommodation, utilities are paid for, council tax is paid for, and there is free access to the NHS and free education for their children.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 25/06/2020 08:02:51 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

1199431

registered interest
date	02/06/2020
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	Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 27 May (HL4183), whether the outcomes of the review of asylum support will be published by the end of June.
tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
uin	HL5030
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2020 answer text <p>We review the level of financial support provided to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute annually, using a methodology that has been in place since 2014 and which the courts have agreed is rational and lawful. The methodology takes account of the costs of food, clothes, toiletries and other items.</p><p> </p><p>The standard weekly allowance has been raised to £39.60 from £37.75, an increase of around 5%, because the methodology showed this is now the amount the average asylum seeker needs to meet their essential living needs. This increase is considerably higher than current year to year rise in general inflation, which was reported to be 0.8% in April.</p><p> </p><p>This allowance is only one part of the package of support provided. We also provide free accommodation, utilities are paid for, council tax is paid for, and there is free access to the NHS and free education for their children.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 16/06/2020 11:21:02 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

1195180

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, further to the answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 6 May (HL Deb, col 441), when the current review of asylum support commenced; when that review is due to be completed; and whether that review will take additional costs into account, such as those associated with hygiene needs, resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
uin	HL4183
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/05/2020 answer text <p>The current review of the level of the cash allowances began with the publication of the latest Family Spending data by the Office of National Statistics on 19 March, as that data is one of the main sources of information used to assess the appropriate level of the allowances. The review also takes account of research into the actual costs of purchasing essential items and whether Covid 19 has impacted on these costs.</p><p> </p><p>The outcome of the review will be published in due course.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 27/05/2020 15:38:49 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

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

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