Lift the Ban Motion on Asylum Seekers
The following motion submitted in accordance with Procedure Rule 10 of the Meeting Procedure Rules has been proposed by Councillor M Gillett and seconded by Councillor C Rigby:-
BCP council notes that:
(i) in BCP, there are over 500 people seeking asylum in receipt of Section 95 support (Immigration Compliance Network (ICN) December 2023);
(ii) since 2002, people seeking asylum have only able to apply for the right to work after they have been waiting for a decision on their asylum claim for over a year, and only if they can be employed into one of the professions included on the Government’s Shortage Occupation List;
(iii) people seeking asylum are left to live on £6.77 per day (or £9.58 per week if in a contingency hotel), struggling to support themselves and their families, and left vulnerable to destitution, isolation, and exploitation;
(iv) allowing people seeking asylum the right to work would increase tax revenue by £1.3 billion, reduce Government expenditure by £6.7 billion, increase GDP by £1.6 billion, and improve the wellbeing of those individuals (National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NISR) June 2023);
(v) 81% of people polled by Lift The Ban agreed with the statement: “when people come to the UK seeking asylum it is important they integrate, learn English and get to know people. It would help integration if asylum-seekers were allowed to work if their claim takes more than six months to process”;
BCP Council believes that:
(vi) people seeking asylum want to be able to work so that they can use their skills and make the most of their potential, integrate into their communities, and provide for themselves and their families;
(vii) enabling those seeking asylum to work would allow them to prove their ability to pay rent and therefore reduce the risk of them requiring council support for housing once they are granted leave to remain;
(viii) restrictions on right to work can lead to extremely poor mental health outcomes, and a waste of potentially invaluable talents and skills both for the economy of BCP and the UK;
(ix) allowing people seeking asylum the right to work would therefore lead to positive outcomes for those seeking asylum in BCP and for the local and national economy;
BCP Council resolves to:
(x) join the Lift the Ban Coalition, which is campaigning to restore the right to work for everyone waiting for more than 6 months for a decision on their asylum claim;
(xi) asks the Leader of the Council to write to the Home Secretary seeking an urgent change to legislation to give people seeking asylum the right to work unconstrained by the shortage occupation list after they have waited six months for a decision on their initial asylum claim or further submission.
Minutes:
The following motion was submitted in accordance with Procedure Rule 10 of the Meeting Procedure Rules and was moved by Councillor M Gillett and seconded by Councillor C Rigby: -
BCP council notes that:
i. in BCP, there are over 500 people seeking asylum in receipt of Section 95 support (Immigration Compliance Network (ICN) December 2023);
ii. since 2002, people seeking asylum have only able to apply for the right to work after they have been waiting for a decision on their asylum claim for over a year, and only if they can be employed into one of the professions included on the Government’s Shortage Occupation List;
iii. people seeking asylum are left to live on £6.77 per day (or £9.58 per week if in a contingency hotel), struggling to support themselves and their families, and left vulnerable to destitution, isolation, and exploitation;
iv. allowing people seeking asylum the right to work would increase tax revenue by £1.3 billion, reduce Government expenditure by £6.7 billion, increase GDP by £1.6 billion, and improve the wellbeing of those individuals (National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NISR) June 2023);
BCP Council believes that:
vi. people seeking asylum want to be able to work so that they can use their skills and make the most of their potential, integrate into their communities, and provide for themselves and their families;
vii. enabling those seeking asylum to work would allow them to prove their ability to pay rent and therefore reduce the risk of them requiring council support for housing once they are granted leave to remain;
viii. restrictions on right to work can lead to extremely poor mental health outcomes, and a waste of potentially invaluable talents and skills both for the economy of BCP and the UK;
ix. allowing people seeking asylum the right to work would therefore lead to positive outcomes for those seeking asylum in BCP and for the local and national economy;
BCP Council resolves to:
x. join the Lift the Ban Coalition, which is campaigning to restore the right to work for everyone waiting for more than 6 months for a decision on their asylum claim;
Comprehensive discussion took place on the motion before Council moved to the vote.
RESOLVED: -
BCP council notes that:
i. in BCP, there are over 500 people seeking asylum in receipt of Section 95 support (Immigration Compliance Network (ICN) December 2023);
ii. since 2002, people seeking asylum have only able to apply for the right to work after they have been waiting for a decision on their asylum claim for over a year, and only if they can be employed into one of the professions included on the Government’s Shortage Occupation List;
iii. people seeking asylum are left to live on £6.77 per day (or £9.58 per week if in a contingency hotel), struggling to support themselves and their families, and left vulnerable to destitution, isolation, and exploitation;
iv. allowing people seeking asylum the right to work would increase tax revenue by £1.3 billion, reduce Government expenditure by £6.7 billion, increase GDP by £1.6 billion, and improve the wellbeing of those individuals (National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NISR) June 2023);
BCP Council believes that:
vi. people seeking asylum want to be able to work so that they can use their skills and make the most of their potential, integrate into their communities, and provide for themselves and their families;
vii. enabling those seeking asylum to work would allow them to prove their ability to pay rent and therefore reduce the risk of them requiring council support for housing once they are granted leave to remain;
viii. restrictions on right to work can lead to extremely poor mental health outcomes, and a waste of potentially invaluable talents and skills both for the economy of BCP and the UK;
ix. allowing people seeking asylum the right to work would therefore lead to positive outcomes for those seeking asylum in BCP and for the local and national economy;
BCP Council resolves to:
x. join the Lift the Ban Coalition, which is campaigning to restore the right to work for everyone waiting for more than 6 months for a decision on their asylum claim;
Voting: 43:7 (3 abstentions)