|
|
| Summaries: |
| |
03
June 04 | Refugee Council issues briefing detailing
their concerns about: the lack of planning, notice and consultation
over the options available to people, scale of potential destitution,
homelessness, race relations implications and says further
legal challenges on a "number of fronts" are being
considered. With delays in securing employment or self-employment,
worker registration, obtaining national insurance numbers,
processing benefits applications by the DWP, Inland Revenue
and local authorities and delays carrying out assessments. |
| |
28 May 04 | NASS to start
sending letters out, giving 3 days notice of an assessment
visit. Support could be stopped immediately if no one is available
for assessment. Advisers can ask support agencies or landlords
to be informed of visits. Written notice of 14 to 28 days
to be given, with reasons for decision, if NASS believe support
should not be continued. Rights of appeal to the Asylum Support
Adjudicator (ASA) against any decision to refuse support can
still be exercised. NASS trying to sort out problems with
documents needed to prove people have the right to work. |
| |
24 May 04 | NASS revises
Asylum Support Appeals bulletin No: 23. Community Care Magazine
reports that more than 150 people have been refused support.
Article does not give any reference to the Section 55 Limbuela
judgement of 21 May 2004 or the Indefinite Leave to Remain
(ILR) amnesty. Article seems to be based on 17 May 2004 Hansard
report, in which Des Browne confirmed that people could continue
to be supported if failing to do so contravened their convention
(human-rights) or Community Treaty rights. Rights that NASS
never properly addressed in its original blanket-policy attempt
to cancel everyones accommodation and welfare benefit support
on 1 May 2004. |
| |
21 May 04 No: 4 | Full-text
of ground-breaking Section 55 Limbuela judgement available
for download in html, pdf, text and word versions. Which offers
the most definitive guidance on how rules should be applied
to core aspects of the NASS and Local Authority asylum support
EU accession cases. |
| |
21 May 04 No: 3 | Citizens'
Advice calls for in-human law to be scrapped. After court
judge said it was "abhorrent, illogical and expense"
for the Home Office to "wait-and-see" how a persons
situation could become on the verge of "inhuman and degrading
treatment" by denial of the right to work, housing and
welfare-benefits to survive. The Home Office was therefore
found to be in breach of Article 3 of the European Convention
on Human Rights |
| |
21 May 04 No: 2 | Shelter
is a basic human right, says Court of Appeal as Charity
Shelter today heralds the Court of Appeal ruling saying
that ‘shelter of some form from the elements at night’
is a ‘basic amenity’ as Blunkett loses 3 Section
55 asylum support appeals at the Court of Appeal. Shelter
requests urgent help to find case
studies, as court case has potentially huge implications
for "single homelessness and the statutory housing rights
of people from abroad" Court states case-by-case ECHR
Article 3 'inhuman and degrading treatment' appeals should
not be dealt with through the courts. The Home Office may
now need to carry out a root-and-branch review of its asylum-support
policies and procedures, especially getting rid of rules that
deny people from the right for NASS to review any decision
by them to refuse support. Further media reports. |
| |
21 May 04 No: 1 | Housing
Today magazine report that EU accession families and single
people are saved from eviction after the "Home Office
abandoned its hardline policy" |
| |
18 May 04 | Gloucestershire
Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers (Garas) help families
and single people overcome shock and despair at having services
cut. Refugee Childrens' Consortium discuss bungled attempt
at evicting familes, causing chaos, confusion and litigation. |
| |
15 May 04 | One page summary
of situation, to date. |
| |
14 May 04 | Climate of
fear, The Home Office have given in...The Treasury Solicitor
sends letter to Pierce Glynn Solicitors, which confirms High
Court challenge adjourned for 5 to 6 weeks: Dated 14th May
2004. Letter from Director of NASS to Chief Executives about
continuing and terminating support: Dated 14th May 2004. Solicitors
letter and all others can be downloaded from this website.
London Asylum Seekers Consortium (LASC) to hold meeting on
EU accession and Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) amnesty.
Interesting! media report about non-loss of
accommodation...and mis-understandings about fundamental human
rights. Funding problems for local authorities. Solicitor
expresses note of thanks. |
| |
11 May 04 | Leaflets updated
for asylum seekers and their advisers. NASS note: Home Office
retained ID not required to register as a worker. NASS letter
to Chief Executives about Indefinite Leave to Remain amnesty.
More case law added. |
| |
10 May 04 | Indefinite
Leave to Remain (ILR) amnesty: Letter from David Blunkett
to Citizen's Advice, confirms those being considered will
have housing and support continued until a decision is made.
How to apply |
| |
7 May 04 | Home Office
perform an 11th-hour U-turn. Period of grace for asylum seekers
to find "work". Councils offered say in judicial
review on asylum seekers for new EU states. London Asylum
Seekers Consortium (LASC) to hold urgent meeting on EU accession
and 1998 Human Rights Act, LASC training notes available |
| |
5 May 04 | NASS: "Urgent
review launched" Threatened with eviction? Telephone
NASS on 020 8633 0341 - Leave for Judicial Review against
the DWP refused. Urgent Request: Please email
evidence of difficulties people have getting into work. High
Court case notes on breaches of human rights and being unreasonable,
case to be heard next week for two days, after the Limbuela
Section 55 judgement has been issued. |
| |
4 May 04 - No: 3
| Leave for Judicial Review granted, to challenge
"unlawful and discriminatory" policies. Not reasonable
to cut off housing and support. Court not pleased to be used
to sort out mess, causing waste of public money. Three months
requested to sort things out, Challenges to benefits regulations.
Are other regulations discriminatory? Questions about... remain.
Further media reports |
| |
4 May 04 - No: 2 | Battle
Won, as "The Way it has been done is arguably unfair"
Justice Collins. Roma families trapped |
| |
4 May 04 - No:1 | Des Browne
states "no evictions", NASS emergency number given
out on BBC Radio 4, NASS says people can stay in their accommodation,
Kafka insults: At start of a Bank Holiday told to look for
work or get out, No papers to work, Told to work from Saturday,
Worker regulations published Friday, Delays with leave to
remain 'Amnesty', Asylum Support court cases this week, Advisers
struggling sorting lives out, Test cases on welfare benefits,
Website Poster created, Further media reports |
| |
1 May 04 | Red
Cross providing tents, Accession Worker Registration and Habitual
Residence Test regulations published, Race backlash fear,
Roma and powerful exclusionary forces, Further media reports |
| |
30 April 04 - No: 2 |
Model letters
to Social Services requesting help, Shelter provide emergency
service and send letter to Chief Executives, Local authorities
stop evictions and apply pressure on Home Office, Medical
Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture offers help,
David Blunkett letter to Chair of Local Government Association,
What to do flow chart, Refugee Council Press Releases, Des
Browne confirms NASS to review cases, Further media reports |
| |
30 April 04 - No: 1 |
Bank Holiday
contacts: NASS issues emergency paper and telephone numbers,
Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) looking for welfare
benefit test cases, Details of three successful Asylum Support
Adjudicator appeals, 'Council believes it has found a way
of continuing to support', Councils in last-ditch bid to save
asylum families. Further media reports |
| |
29 April 04
| Reprieve
- NASS and local authorities will hold off on evicting asylum
seekers and will provide them with emergency support |
| |
28 April 04
| '.
. .crisis looms as families cut adrift, Catastrophe will strike
- people are devastated and frightened |
| |
27 April - 04 | Specimen
grounds for Judicial Review and a bundle of new documents
added to support High Court and Asylum Support Adjudicator
(ASA) appeals and representations. Further media reports |
| |
26 April 04
| NASS
to review cases, Out of time Asylum Support (ASA) appeals
allowed, Local authority agrees to carry out assessments,
Wanted: Counsel willing to represent pro bono at ASA
and Solicitors to take on cases, Refugee Council Briefing,
Roma community groups desperate for help |
| |
25 April 04 | Website launched |
 |
|
|
Refugee
Council concerns
| Full-text
of June briefing in PDF format
|
Contents
(extracts below)
Relevant legislation
Background
EU accession country nationals
What happens to outstanding asylum applications?
Support issues:
NASS
Work and benefits
The Home Office Workers Registration Scheme
Nationals of Malta and Cyprus
Disability benefits
Housing assistance
Local authority powers
How will individual NASS assessments work?
People wishing to return to their country of origin
Refugee Council concerns (shown below)
NASS has advised
that asylum seekers from the ten accession countries who lose
NASS support on 1 May 2004, will have the following three options:
1. They register as workers under the Workers Registration Scheme.
As workers, they
and their families will be eligible for certain income-related
benefits.
2. They remain in the UK as jobseekers but become self-supporting,
for example, by
staying with friends or relatives.
3. They leave the UK.
The Refugee
Council has the following concerns:
- We are
concerned that people will not be able to exercise any of the
above options but suddenly lose all means of support, and be
expected either to leave the UK or to support themselves. 2,571
main asylum applicants are in this position – the scale
of destitution resulting from this could therefore be considerable.
- There may
also be an impact on race relations in communities if certain
groups likely to suffer racial harassment, such as Roma, who
are likely to have language and probably even literacy problems,
become homeless and visible to the community. The sudden withdrawal
of benefits for this group may be the subject of a legal challenge
on a number of fronts and we are seeking advice about this.
- There will
be many people who are unable to access housing, benefits and
support to which they are entitled to quickly enough through
no fault of their own but because of the potentially large volume
of applications and official delays such as:
- Delays
in securing employment or self-employment
- Delays
in processing work registration applications
- Delays
in processing national insurance number applications
- Delays
in processing fresh benefit applications by the DWP, the
Inland Revenue and local authorities
- Delays
in processing social service assessments
There has
been inadequate planning, notice and consultation about the regulations
and proposed policy changes. There is insufficient time to notify
people resident in the UK who are directly affected by them. This
will have a huge resource impact on the advice and voluntary sector
as well as on local authorities, as they will have to attempt
to explain a complex raft of new provisions at very short notice.
It is likely that many will be refused further support following
the process of reassessment, reluctant to return home and yet
be denied any access to benefits or housing. The needs of these
people may still be the subject of a further legal challenge.
|