UPDATE: The Home Office provided another interim increase to asylum support in July 2023 so the current level of asylum support is £47.39 and to £9.58 for those in full board accommodation. The 2023 review of support rates concluded with a minimul increase in the main rate of asylum support to £49.18 and a cut in support for those in full board accommodation to £8.86. Additional payments to children under 1yr increased to £9.50 and for pregnant women and children 1-4years to £5.25.
We have written a briefing on asylum support rates which covers:
- Background history of asylum support.
- Ways support has been assessed to cover essential living needs over the years.
- Up-to-date information about the court case in December 2022 when the Home Secretary was ordered to increase support immediately, which triggered the recent increase to £45 per week and £9.10 for those in full board accommodation.
- The real terms cut in support over the years and the impact this has had on people living on asylum support.
We know that in the cost of living crisis this current amount still does not cover essential living needs as demonstrated in these recent local media articles of people’s stories in Birmingham, the North East, London and again in Birmingham. We call on the UK Government to reinstate the link to mainstream benefits and set asylum support at 70% of the basic Universal Credit over 25s rate.
There should be further developments on this topic in the coming weeks and we will update you as things progress.
