Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what financial support mechanisms his Department has in place to support asylum seekers.

The Home Office ensures asylum seekers are not left destitute by providing appropriate support under section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. The support package usually consists of free, furnished accommodation (with utility bills and council tax paid) and a weekly cash allowance to meet other essential living needs. But those who find accommodation through friends or relatives may be provided with the allowance only.

The level of the allowance, currently set at £37.75 per week for each person in the household, is reviewed each year to make sure it is sufficient to cover essential living needs.

The most recent assessment of the adequacy of the asylum support rates is set out in a report published in March 2018, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-review-of-cash-allowance-paid-to-asylum-seekers.