British Asylum Seekers Cut to just £5 a Day

It now seems that the benefit support system for asylum seekers has taken a turn for the worst. This week, all asylum seekers' benefits will be cut to just £5 a day. The UK government says that this is just over half of what a person needs to live on.

This new cut means that the weekly rate for a single asylum seeker, over the age of 25, will be cut from £42.16 to £35.13 a week. Of course, this information comes following the news that lone parents with one child will see their rates frozen at £42.16 and not increase with inflation. However, this just leaves them £2 a week worse off.

The Home Office was able to pass a regulation through parliament last June that allowed them to do away with a higher rate of support for asylum seekers aged 25 and over. The UK Border Agency did note that the asylum support rates were reviewed. A spokesman for the the agency went on to say that the rates were reviewed in view of the hard economic times. He went on to point out that the support for asylum seekers has always been linked to income support rates. The income support rates are higher for people over the age of 25 and for loan parents.

This, however, does not apply to asylum seekers, who typically live in UK Border Agency accommodations and have no housing costs to worry about. They also do not have to worry about power bills, water or gas. Many people are unaware of just how many benefits these asylum seekers get. The government is not just giving them £35.13 a week and telling them to make a life for themselves.