This submission outlines concerns about Home Office contact management with people seeking asylum, including the imposition of reporting conditions on extremely vulnerable individuals, including those with mental and/or physical disabilities and survivors of torture and trafficking, and poor communication with those in asylum accommodation.
Once a person has been officially recognised as a ‘victim of trafficking’, the Home Office should automatically consider whether they should be given a grant of leave to remain in the UK. But last year our research revealed that a shockingly low number of confirmed survivors of trafficking had received this. Instead, they were left in limbo and reliant on the asylum system as a safety net.
It is critical for refugees and survivors of trafficking and torture to have access to consistent, trauma-informed support; proactive health screening; and medical and therapeutic care to recover from their past experiences. But key to addressing the mental health needs of survivors of torture and trafficking is also addressing the systemic failings that cause them harm in the UK.
Year after year, the Helen Bamber Foundation (HBF) has provided detailed evidence to the Home Office explaining why the meagre financial support given to people seeking asylum denies them their basic needs. This has a terrible impact on their mental health and impedes their recovery from trauma, torture and abuse. But every year, the rates are barely revised. If at all, they are increased by an amount so insignificant that it hardly makes a dent in their experiences of poverty.
The purpose of this study, undertaken by the University of Birmingham and Helen Bamber Foundation, was to ascertain whether it was possible to assess the extent of caseworkers’ adherence with the interview guidelines, based on an examination of interview transcripts. The study focused on interviews with sexual and gender-based violence because previous research identified that survivors found interviews particularly traumatic.
The current state of immigration and asylum advice is dire – 63% of the population in England and Wales do not have access to an immigration and asylum legal aid provider. Even those that do live near one of the remaining providers face significant barriers in accessing legally aided advice, due to saturated provider capacity precipitated by years of unsustainable legal aid fees, heavy administrative burdens and burnt-out practitioners.
Since 2020, the UK government has used former military barracks and a barge, the Bibby Stockholm, to house asylum seekers. These mass containment sites are not suitable accommodation for anyone seeking asylum, and they are particularly damaging for people with trauma and poor health.
For far too long, the Home Office has been detaining survivors of trafficking and modern slavery in ‘immigration removal centres’ after they have been wrongly convicted for offences their traffickers forced them to commit or after they have been found not to have permission to stay in the UK. Although most are later released (their detention having served no purpose), people can be held indefinitely. The harm this causes is profound and often irreparable.
In 2023, we were a source of power for the survivors we work with as well as for our partners and sister organisations across the UK and internationally. At a time when our own government actively sought to reduce accountability and scrutiny of their policies by the courts – a key pillar of democracy – we stepped up to engage and transform, and, where necessary, challenge.
We are horrified and extremely concerned about the far-right racist attacks on asylum hotels and violence against people seeking asylum, refugees, migrants, and minority communities, particularly Muslims. These disturbing images and threats of more organised attacks are taking a huge toll on the mental health of the people we work with – those who have survived some of the worst forms of human cruelty and have arrived in the UK in hope of finding protection.
We are excited to tell you that Helen Bamber Foundation is moving to a new building. We will be sharing the building with staff from Asylum Aid. This move is a positive change for us, as it will help us to better serve our community. We invite you to learn more about this change and how it will benefit our mission and clients.
The number of survivors of trafficking in immigration detention has increased dramatically in recent years. This briefing outlines recommendations to ensure survivors of trafficking are able to access the support and protection that they need for them to recover and break the cycle of trafficking, and for the UK to meet its international obligations.
