British Red Cross says numbers using its destitution services up by 10%, warns Immigration Bill will force even more families into poverty and destitution
Destitution among refugees and asylum seekers in the UK is rising, the British Red Cross said in a statement yesterday.
The British Red Cross runs destitution services to provide food parcels, clothing and small amounts of emergency cash to refugees and asylum seekers and it says that the number using the services increased 10% to over 3,000 in the first three months of 2016.
The age range of those using the services ranged from less than one year old to 91. The top four countries or origin were Eritrea, Sudan, Iran and Syria.
Alex Fraser, director of refugee support at the Red Cross, said: "These figures show that people who seek safety in the UK after fleeing conflict and persecution are increasingly at risk of becoming destitute in the most literal sense of the word.
"We frequently see families who rely on our support to be able to feed and clothe their children.
"We also know that we don't see everyone who is destitute, so the true figures are likely to be even higher.
"The UK can do better than this and do more for those fleeing unimaginable situations in countries such as Syria and Iraq.
"It's clear that the UK's asylum system can leave anyone destitute – whether you are young or old, fleeing the conflict in Syria or political persecution in Eritrea, have just arrived having made the journey through Europe or are a refugee who Home Office accepts to be in need of protection. This shows no sign of slowing down."
The British Red Cross warned that the Immigration Bill 2015/16 is expected to further curtail levels of asylum support and is likely to force even more families who are unable to leave the country into poverty and destitution.
It says the Government intends to remove support payments for refused asylum seeking families, regardless of whether or not they can safely leave the UK. Alex Fraser said cutting off such support "is a red line that should not be crossed."
The Guardian reported on the Red Cross's statement here and spoke to the manager of a centre for destitute asylum seekers in Dalston, east London. She said food parcels increasingly had to be items that could be eaten raw because no one had access to cooking facilities.
"We see more and more rough sleepers … On Tuesday [last week] we gave out 100 food parcels and these were to people who can't access ordinary food banks. Most cannot access any funds at all. Technically there shouldn't be any families with children sleeping rough, but we are certainly seeing that is happening. There are so many gaps in the system, in social services and in the asylum time-frames, the manager told the Guardian.