Destitute asylum seekers top 1,000

Published on Saturday 17 October 2009 19:50

MORE than a thousand failed asylum seekers are living in Glasgow on emergency support, new figures revealed last night.

They are living on 35 worth of government-issued supermarket vouchers a week, having exhausted the appeals process and officially declared themselves destitute.

The UK Borders Agency yesterday confirmed that as of 31 July, 1,089 people refused asylum in Britain were living in Glasgow on Section 4 Support, the minimum needed to survive. In the whole UK there are 11,390.

John Wilkes, chief executive of the Scottish Refugee Council (SRC), said: "It's simply unacceptable to see that so many people are being forced to subsist on cashless support.

"While their cases for asylum have been refused, they are still in limbo and cannot return to their country for reasons of health, safety or further judicial process."

Wilkes and the SRC want such failed asylum seekers to be allowed to find work and pay their own way.

The vouchers were introduced to prevent failed asylum seekers from going hungry as they wait to leave the country. Those applying for the support must be without any means of support and formally agree to leave Britain.

Phil Taylor, of the UK Border Agency, said:

"Our asylum process is fair and humane, with oversight by the courts. Decisions are being made quicker than ever."

Around 22,000 asylum seekers have been dispersed to Glasgow since the year 2000. Section 4 vouchers will be replaced by plastic cards next month.