Proposed by Councillor Clarke, seconded by Councillor Sood:
Leicester City Leicester City Council recognises the
plight of asylum seekers forced to flee their home countries due to
conflict and persecution. Many arrive in the UK after having been
threatened, detained, beaten or tortured.
An adult seeking protection in this country who has no other source
of support will receive just over £5 a day to pay for food,
clothing, toiletries and travel (accommodation and utilities are
paid for separately for those who have nowhere to live). They are
not allowed to work to support themselves. If their claims are refused by the Home Office, they lose all
support and are left destitute and street homeless.
In the last six months of 2013 the British Red Cross Leicester Refugee Support Services have carried out 1,659 actions (e.g. the issuing of food parcels, sleeping bags) to support 325 destitute asylum seekers in Leicester. Of these 108 were new cases and it is likely that this reflects the impact of welfare reforms in general and has resulted in a reduction in community capacity to continue to support such persons. Leicester City Council is concerned about such destitution and its impact on local communities.
Leicester is a welcoming and inclusive city and wants to join those
local authorities (Liverpool, Bristol, Sheffield, Oxford, Glasgow,
Leeds and Bradford)petitioning the Home Secretary to relieve the
suffering of people seeking sanctuary and especially those people
who have yet to be granted leave to remain in the UK.
Leicester City Council approves the following actions:
1. Write on behalf of Leicester City Council to the Minister of
State for Immigration questioning Government policies that
force asylum seekers into destitution; expressing concern over the
low level of support available to asylum seekers; seeking a change
of policy to allow local authorities to assist refused asylum
seekers who are in danger of falling into destitution; asking that
such asylum seekers should be able to work to support themselves if
they have been waiting for more than 6 months for their cases to be
resolved; and demanding that local authorities should be permitted
to provide emergency provision to refused asylum seekers as to
other homeless people.
2. Ask Leicester’s MPs to support the spirit of this motion,
to raise the matter in the House of Commons, and to support a
change in current laws regarding asylum applications by removing
restrictions on local authorities in the support they can provide
to destitute asylum seekers.
3. Leicester City Council officers to produce a report summarising
existing support for asylum seekers available in Leicester
including housing, training, education, and legal advice open to
vulnerable asylum applicants.
4. Leicester City Council to join the national campaign "Still
Human, Still Here" (a coalition of 60 organisations, including
several city councils, the Church of England and Catholic
Archbishop Conferences, Crisis, Oxfam, and the Red Cross, who are
proposing practical solutions to ending the destitution of refused
asylum seekers in the UK.)
5. Leicester City Council to seek further support for this motion
and action via the Local Government Association and by encouraging
other Councils in the UK to join us on this issue."
Minutes:
41. Proposed by Councillor Clarke, seconded by Councillor Sood and carried:
“Leicester City Council recognises the plight of asylum seekers forced to flee their home countries due to conflict and persecution. Many arrive in the UK after having been threatened, detained, beaten or tortured.
An adult seeking protection in this country who has no other source
of support will receive just over £5 a day to pay for food,
clothing, toiletries and travel (accommodation and utilities are
paid for separately for those who have nowhere to live). They are
not allowed to work to support themselves. If their claims are
refused by the Home Office, they lose all support and are left
destitute and street homeless.
In the last six months of 2013 the British Red Cross Leicester Refugee Support Services have carried out 1,659 actions (e.g. the issuing of food parcels, sleeping bags) to support 325 destitute asylum seekers in Leicester. Of these 108 were new cases and it is likely that this reflects the impact of welfare reforms in general and has resulted in a reduction in community capacity to continue to support such persons. Leicester City Council is concerned about such destitution and its impact on local communities.
Leicester is a welcoming and inclusive city and wants to join those local authorities (Liverpool, Bristol, Sheffield, Oxford, Glasgow, Leeds and Bradford) petitioning the Home Secretary to relieve the suffering of people seeking sanctuary and especially those people who have yet to be granted leave to remain in the UK.
Leicester City Council approves the following
actions:
1. Write on behalf of Leicester City Council to the Minister of
State for Immigration questioning Government policies that force
asylum seekers into destitution; expressing concern over the low
level of support available to asylum seekers; seeking a change of
policy to allow local authorities to assist refused asylum seekers
who are in danger of falling into destitution; asking that such
asylum seekers should be able to work to support themselves if they
have been waiting for more than 6 months for their cases to be
resolved; and demanding that local authorities should be permitted
to provide emergency provision to refused asylum seekers as to
other homeless people.
2. Ask Leicester’s MPs to support the spirit of this motion, to raise the matter in the House of Commons, and to support a change in current laws regarding asylum applications by removing restrictions on local authorities in the support they can provide to destitute asylum seekers.
3. Leicester City Council officers to produce a report summarising
existing support for asylum seekers available in Leicester
including housing, training, education, and legal advice open to
vulnerable asylum applicants.
4. Leicester City Council to join the national campaign "Still
Human, Still Here" (a coalition of 60 organisations, including
several city councils, the Church of England and Catholic
Archbishop Conferences, Crisis, Oxfam, and the Red Cross, who are
proposing practical solutions to ending the destitution of refused
asylum seekers in the UK).
5. Leicester City Council to seek further support for this motion and action via the Local Government Association and by encouraging other Councils in the UK to join us on this issue.
.