Baobab Briefings

Surviving in Poverty: Life on asylum support

7 Dec 2023

A new report by Asylum Matters finds 91% of people on asylum support in the UK “don’t always have enough money to buy food”.

The report by Asylum Matters shows the alarming level of marginalisation and destitution endured by asylum seekers on asylum support in the UK. Their survey of 300 asylum seekers makes for grim reading and shows how the asylum support system is working against the goal of rehabilitation and integration of asylum seekers into the UK’s social and economic life. (source: Asylum Matters, “Surviving in Poverty”, Dec 2023)

key findings from the Asylum Matters "Surviving in Poverty Report"
Key findings from “Surviving in Poverty: A report documenting life on asylum support” (Dec 2023)

At the Baobab Centre, where our young people currently wait an average of 3 years and 10 months to receive refugee protection after arriving alone and destitute, almost half of them require hardship support from us to survive — just to survive, as they then face significant barriers to accessing education, skills-development or jobs.

We join Asylum Matters in calling on the government to:

  • Increase rates of asylum support (currently £6.77 per day) to bring them in line with Universal Credit levels of support (£10.42 per day for under-25s);
  • Allow asylum seekers the right to work as soon as possible after arrival, and certainly after 6 months of claiming asylum.
  • Faciliate access to education. Currently, only 25% of our 18-25 year-old Baobab community members have ever attended some university (compared to 47% in the 2023 Department of Education CHEP measure)
Read the report (PDF 6.2Mb)
Baobab Briefings