Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 26 May 2020 to Question 47460, when the review into cash allowances for asylum seekers commenced; what evidence or information is being sought; and what the timescale is for the conclusion of that review.

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%.

In March 2018, we made public the methodology for calculating the asylum support rates and the underpinning research. This can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-review-of-cash-allowance-paid-to-asylum-seekers.