Asylum: Pupils

(asked on 9th October 2018) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what help they provide to asylum seeker families whose children are allocated places at schools too close to their homes to qualify for free transport but where the additional cost of travel fares is unaffordable; and what assistance they provide for obtaining school uniforms.


Answered by
Baroness Williams of Trafford Portrait
Baroness Williams of Trafford
Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
This question was answered on 17th October 2018

Asylum seekers and their dependants who would otherwise be destitute are provided with accommodation and a weekly cash allowance to cover their other essential living needs. The level of the allowance is reviewed each year using a methodology that takes account of the costs of reasonable travel and of purchasing clothes, including school uniforms.

The level of the allowance does not take account of the costs of children travelling to school because these are generally covered by the local authority if the family does not live within reasonable walking distance of the school. However, where an asylum seeker or their dependant have a need for additional funds for travel purposes they can apply for it exceptionally. The applications are considered on a case by case basis.

Further information about how the level of the cash allowance provided to asylum seekers is assessed and about how they can apply for additional funds can be found in the reports published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-review-of-cash-allowance-paid-to-asylum-seekers and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/applications-for-additional-support

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