For generations, the UK has welcomed people fleeing conflict and climate change to its shores. Whilst government policy is changing – with a focus on supporting people using safe and legal routes to the UK only – our nations will continue to play an important role globally.
People Seeking Asylum – The Facts
A person seeking asylum is someone whose request for sanctuary has yet to be processed. Every year around one million people seek asylum globally.
108 million people are estimated to be forcibly displaced worldwide.
37,000 people seeking asylum and Afghan refugees are currently being accommodated in hotels across the UK at a cost of £4.7m per day.
All asylum seeking children are entitled to free school meals and education to the age of 18.
20 months is the average length of time it takes for those with an asylum application to receive an initial decision. In extreme cases, people can be waiting for up to five years. The current backlog of people waiting to hear about their asylum claim in the UK stands at 166,000 cases.
People seeking asylum are unable to work or claim benefits whilst their asylum claim is being processed. Instead, they are given £8 a week on which to survive.
77% of initial asylum applications in the UK are successful (year ending Sept 22). Of those that are rejected, 48% were successfully appealed this decision.
Apart from for supporting unaccompanied asylum seeking children, Councils receive little funding for their work with people seeking asylum. As such they rely heavily on the support of the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector.
People Seeking Asylum in Devon
There are currently two hotels in Devon supporting around 400 people from over 50 different nationalities. These individuals range from newborns up to older age and the majority are families.
We need to find accommodation for over 500 adults coming through the national dispersal programme by December 2023.
There are 65 Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) in care being supported in Devon and 39 care experienced unaccompanied asylum seeking young people (over 18s).
The Unaccompanied asylum seeking children and young people in Devon have come from Afghanistan, Albania, Iran, Pakistan, Sudan and Vietnam.