THE HOME Secretary must ensure all asylum seekers have support and are provided with accommodation so they can protect themselves and others through the Covid-19 crisis, according to the Scottish Refugee Council.
The charity claims Priti Patel’s policies mean some refused asylum seekers are being left homeless and unable to follow UK Government guidance to stay at home, or self-isolate if they have symptoms or additional vulnerabilities. Unable to travel back to their home countries, they are destitute and stuck in limbo.
Under standard Home Office policy, when someone’s application for asylum is refused their support is stopped, they are told to leave their accommodation within 28 days and expected to return to their country of origin. On Friday this rule was lifted for three months, but refugee charities claim hundreds of asylum seekers who are already homeless and destitute will slip through the net.
Emergency support, known as Section 4, is available if they cannot travel due to bureaucratic or medical reasons. It is argued that everyone should be entitled to emergency support as a minimum, including those previously refused support.
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Sabir Zazai, chief executive of Scottish Refugee Council, told the Sunday National that Patel (right) was “inexcusably and irresponsibly failing” in her duty to provide accommodation and support to destitute asylum seekers who are especially vulnerable in the crisis. Many have underlying health conditions, which could make them more at risk.
He added: “Scotland’s communities, public services and charities are doing their best to bring people at risk into safety by providing emergency accommodation. But the Home Secretary is not.
“The Home Secretary has the legal duty to house people seeking refugee protection. In failing, she is breaking her own Prime Minister’s instructions – that people should stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.”
Last week the charity made two successful applications for destitute asylum seekers to get accommodation and support on the basis of the Covid-19 outbreak. However, advisers argue the onus should be on the Home Office to provide it, not asylum seekers. “Only in the last few days has the Home office been forced, case-by-case, to do the right thing,” added Zazai.
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“But the burden shouldn’t be on destitute people and overstretched charities, at a time like this, to find shelter for people. The responsibility and the power to keep people safe sits with the UK state, with its billionaire contractors.”
Earlier this month the Scottish Government provided funding for hotel rooms for those who were sleeping in the Glasgow Night Shelter for Destitute Asylum Seekers. However Scottish Refugee Council claims many are still not housed.
Zazai said: “Tonight in Glasgow, there are scores of people that the Home Office accepts are entitled to asylum accommodation due to Covid-19. But they are not actually in Home Office housing, they are on the streets or if they are lucky, in a safety net of temporary shelter provided by Glasgow’s refugee and homelessness charities.
“This is a disgrace and the Home Secretary’s inaction on this puts people’s lives at risk. There is one simple step she can take today – make the asylum support system automatically and immediately accessible to all destitute asylum seekers.”
Stuart McDonald MP (above), SNP spokesman on immigration, asylum and border control, said that though he had received assurances from Prime Minister Boris Johnson that refused asylum seekers would be supported through the crisis, he was yet to see words turn into action.
“This is vitally important because if we leave any group behind we undermine the public health response to coronavirus, and that is not good for anyone,” he added.
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“Ensuring widespread and easy access to Section 4 support is one really practical way of doing that. It is designed for those whose asylum applications have been unsuccessful, but who cannot realistically leave the country.
“At the moment, basically that applies to everybody, so it makes some sense to do things this way, and it could be fairly straightforward for the Home Office to administer as it should already have all the information it needs to hand.
“Failing to take action will put more lives at risk – it is as simple as that.”
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