Resource

For Esther, getting her son to school has become a daily struggle. Esther’s son is being assessed for autism and ADHD, and his primary school has been supportive throughout the process. For Esther, a survivor of sexual abuse and domestic exploitation, keeping him at the same school is important. Changing schools while he is being assessed would be disruptive and potentially harmful. 

But when Esther applied for asylum support, the Home Office did not agree that she should be accommodated near his school. In fact, she was moved further away. She now has to take two buses each way to get him to and from school, meaning eight bus journeys every day. 

Esther receives £9.95 a week in asylum support for herself and her son because they are living in a ‘catered’ asylum hotel. Even allowing for Transport for London’s Hopper fare and the daily bus fare cap of £5.25, getting her son to school can cost £26.25 a week. That is more than the entire weekly payment she receives for the two of them. 

Esther applied for additional financial support which the Home Office says can be available in “exceptional” circumstances. But the Home Office refused her application initially, saying it needed more evidence that she had tried to obtain help from other sources, such as her son’s school or charities. This is not an isolated case. In 2024, of the 384 requests for extra support only 59, or 15.4%, were successful. 

While officials considered the application, Esther could not simply stop taking her son to school. Friends helped where they could, but Esther cannot repay those debts while living on asylum support alone. The Helen Bamber Foundation (HBF) was eventually able to provide a bus pass for one month. When additional support was finally granted, it was only for a month, not even until the end of the school term. The Home Office offered a temporary solution to a problem that was not temporary.  

A mother should not have to choose between getting her child to school and providing her family with essentials such as food, medicines and clothing. Yet for families living on asylum support, this is the reality. Asylum support rates are out of touch with people’s lived realities and based on an outdated and inconsistent approach, despite being reviewed each year. The limited routes to additional support are also burdened by bureaucracy and often difficult for people in need to access. 

A system that pushes people into poverty 

People seeking asylum in the UK can apply for support from the Home Office if they can show that, without it, they would be destitute and unable to meet their essential living needs or secure accommodation. For people waiting for a decision on their initial asylum claim, support is generally provided under section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. Depending on their circumstances, this can include accommodation and financial support, financial support alone, or accommodation alone. 
 
People who have submitted new evidence for a fresh asylum claim, may receive support under section 4 of the same Act. This support can only be accommodation and subsistence payments. But the amounts available are extremely low. People living in catered hotel accommodation, where all food is supposedly provided, currently receive just £9.95 a week. Those who have been moved to ‘dispersal’ accommodation (longer-term temporary accommodation, usually a self-catered, shared flat) receive £49.18. 

Neither rate comes close to covering the cost of living or, in some cases, even meeting essential daily needs. Our clients have shared experiences of being served inedible or half-frozen meals in catered accommodation. Without the ability to cook or even microwave their food, they have been forced to buy meals using the £9.95 a week they receive for subsistence. This system pushes people into poverty and contributes to serious mental health distress. 

This forced poverty impacts thousands of children each year. The government does not publish these figures, but information acquired by HBF showed that at the end of 2025 there were 17,936 children living in self-catered accommodation and 4,419 living on less than £10 a week.  

The problem begins with the way asylum support rates are calculated. Years ago, the Home Office introduced a complex methodology to determine the level of financial support each year, drawing on different measures of household spending and combining selected items to produce the final rate. The result is difficult to scrutinise and does not reflect what people actually need to live with dignity. 

The policy governing 'additional’ financial support, under section 96(2) of the Immigration and Asylum Act, was written in 2017 and has not been updated since, despite the cost of essentials changing dramatically. Meanwhile, local authorities, charities, schools and communities are left to fill the gaps to prevent people from becoming destitute. 

An alternative approach to assessing appropriate levels of support must be taken, with the starting point being a rate that would allow for an acceptable standard of living. Experts have conducted extensive research into this. The Home Office should consider Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s recommendations on embedding an ‘Essentials Guarantee’ into Universal Credit to ensure everyone has a minimum amount of support to afford the basics. In the interim, the rate of asylum support should be the equivalent of 70% mainstream benefits which allows for utilities, rent and other costs to be covered separately by the Home Office. 

Bureaucracy makes poverty worse 

The financial support available to people seeking asylum is already inadequate, but the bureaucracy around it can make it worse. Consider Mariam’s case, who gave birth to her daughter at the start of 2026. After the birth, Mariam was ill and exhausted. It took her several weeks to register her baby’s birth and a little longer to update the Home Office. In total, she notified the Home Office four weeks after the birth. This was still within the six-week statutory period for registering a birth and obtaining a birth certificate. 

The Home Office’s asylum support policy requires people to notify it of a new child within 14 calendar days if they want to receive the full amount of support backdated to the date of birth. One of the few accepted forms of evidence is the birth certificate, which can take several weeks to obtain. Mariam therefore lost £100 of support to which she would otherwise have been entitled. 

For a new mother already living on a tiny amount of money, £100 can mean food, nappies, clothes, toiletries and other essentials for a newborn. It is unreasonable to expect someone who has just given birth to navigate a complex Home Office process within 14 days while also obtaining the evidence needed to prove the birth. 

Esther should not have to borrow money from friends simply to get her son to school. Mariam should not be penalised for taking time to recover from childbirth and complete a statutory process. No one seeking safety in the UK should be forced to live in poverty. The Home Office must ensure that asylum support allows people to meet their essential needs and live with dignity.   

To learn more, click the arrow below to read our 2026 submission to the Home Office on asylum support rates.

No one seeking protection should be forced to choose between food, transport and other essentials. Your donation can help us provide vital support to people facing these impossible choices: https://donate.justgiving.com/charity/helenbamber/donation-amount