Government’s response to your emails calling for cash support for asylum seekers

Thanks to everyone who took our action on cash support for asylum seekers. You should have by now received the response below from the Home Office.

We’re going to be following up directly with the Home Office and we’ll be in touch soon with further actions for you to take.

Response from the Home Office to emails about the Azure payment card:

“The Azure payment card provides the service user with a wide variety of over 8,800 retail outlets. Users are informed of the supermarkets and other retailers who accept the card and further advice is provided by the accommodation provider and/or local voluntary sector organisations.

“Current legislation prevents section 4 support being paid in cash. The Government has no plans to change existing legislation to allow cash to be provided for section 4 support. The provision of support is intended for food and essential toiletries only. The UK Border Agency may arrange for the supply of facilities for travel for a qualifying journey, under the Immigration and Asylum (Provision of Additional Services and Facilities) Regulations 2007 through the accommodation provider. Service Users may also apply for a £5 phone card under these regulations.

“In terms of the ability to carry over a balance should an amount be unspent, the position is that there is a £5 per week carry over limit for single persons. If an individual is destitute it is assumed they will need to spend the majority of the weekly allowance so this limit is considered reasonable. There is no carry over limit for families, who may need to save for items for dependants. Carry over amounts are monitored by the UK Border Agency to ensure the system is not being abused with large amounts being accrued on the card.

“In reply to the recent Asylum Support Partnership report expressing concerns about the Azure card, this report only sampled 1% of those who use Azure cards and of this small sample the vast majority responded positively. The UK Border Agency is confident that the Azure payment card meets the needs of the individuals that use them. The fact that between November 2009 and the end of October 2010 there have been over 950,000 successful Azure card transactions made in 8,800 stores throughout the UK including Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys, Morrisons, Co-op Group and Boots is testament to its success. Of the 166,400 unsuccessful Azure card transactions, 92% were due to the service user having insufficient funds in their account. To enable service users to manage their weekly support, the UK Border Agency provides an automated free phone balance checking facility on 0800 028 5364.”