Call on Home Secretary Priti Patel to protect people seeking asylum during the pandemic
People seeking asylum are being forced to travel to make an asylum claim, live in shared accommodation without space to self-isolate, and are struggling to afford basic necessities to look after themselves and their families. Some are even being made homeless and destitute.
We're calling on the Home Secretary to take further steps to protect all refugees and people seeking asylum during this crisis - please sign the urgent letter:
Dear Home Secretary
Refugees and those seeking asylum are facing huge challenges in this Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the welcome policy changes in recent weeks, there are still gaps in support which we urgently need you to address.
We call on you to immediately:
- Increase asylum support by £20 per week to bring it in line with Universal Credit. This increase is vital for people seeking asylum trying to look after themselves and their families during the coronavirus pandemic.
- Make it possible for people to claim asylum without having to travel. Currently, people seeking asylum are still being required to travel in order to make a claim, in direct contradiction to the Government's own travel restrictions and rules on social distancing.
- Give all people seeking asylum accommodation suitable for social distancing and self-isolation. No-one should be made to share a room, but sadly this is the reality for some people in the asylum system and this is not acceptable.
We need you to act now to further protect refugees and people seeking asylum in this crisis. Thank you for your attention and look forward to receiving a reply.
