Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of asylum support rates on child poverty among families seeking asylum; and whether she has shared this assessment with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for consideration in the Child Poverty Strategy.

The Home Office has a legal obligation to meet the essential living needs of destitute asylum seekers. We meet this obligation by providing accommodation and a weekly allowance. The level of the allowance given is reviewed each year to ensure it remains sufficient in meeting essential living needs.

Additional support is available to pregnant women, young children, and individuals who can show they have exceptional needs. Asylum seeking children are also entitled to access free healthcare and schooling, plus free school meals.