Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2020 to Question 41562 on asylum support, when the review will be concluded; and if she will make a statement.

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.

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%. The increase is significantly higher than the current general rate of inflation, which Office of National Statistics data shows was only 0.8% in the 12 months period to April 2020. Food inflation over the same period was only 1.4% and the data actually shows that, despite Covid-19, food prices fell between March to April 2020. In addition to asylum support payments, asylum seekers are provided with free accommodation, utilities are paid for, council tax is paid for, they have free access to the NHS and their children have free access to education.