Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that newly approved refugees are not subject to a break in support when their asylum support ends after 28 days.

The Government has implemented a number of initiatives to enable refugees to access benefits and housing promptly once any support they have been provided by the Home Office ends 28 days after the grant of their status. These include providing a National Insurance number and the offer of an appointment with their nearest Jobcentre Plus office, so that the refugees can make a claim for mainstream benefits provided by the Department of Work and Pensions.

Refugees are also eligible to receive assistance with housing from their local authority, in the same way as British Citizens or other permanent residents of the UK and are treated as having a priority need if they have children or are considered vulnerable. Asylum accommodation providers are under a contractual duty to refer these cases to the appropriate local authority.