Resources

This briefing summarises findings from two pieces of research, in which the Helen Bamber Foundation was involved, looking at people’s experiences of their substantive asylum interviews: • The texture of narrative dilemmas: Qualitative study in front-line professionals working with asylum seekers in the UK, 20211 • The challenges faced during Home Office interview when seeking asylum in the United Kingdom: An interpretative phenomenological analysis, 20222

This briefing provides a short overview of existing research on the challenges and the experience of legal aid providers in providing advice to clients 'remotely' rather than face to face.

The Bill of Rights Bill, or ‘Rights Removal Bill’, sought to scrap the HRA and replace people’s universal rights with those gifted by the government, whilst removing legal responsibility and accountability and introducing barriers to people actually having their rights upheld. This would affect us all, but would be particularly devastating for more marginalised groups, including survivors.

This report from HBF, written with NGOs Medical Justice, Anti Trafficking and Labour Exploitation Unit and Focus on Labour for Exploitation, highlights the health impact of detention on survivors of trafficking and that the government has deliberately put in place a system in which more trafficking victims will be locked up.

In this evidence, Asylum Aid and HBF set out concerns with the UK-Rwanda Memorandum of Understanding that allows for the relocation of people seeking asylum to Rwanda.

This briefing summarises some of the key findings from a 2018 systematic review carried out by the Helen Bamber Foundation in partnership with academics and experts, looking at the body of research on the impact and mental health consequences that immigration detention may have on adults, adolescents and child immigration detainees.

This report looks at the impact of housing people seeking asylum in barracks accommodation on their physical and mental health and makes recommendations for an asylum housing system that is 'fit for purpose'.

This submission looks at the basic needs provided for by asylum support payments and the most pressing issues that have been identified by HBF in relation to our clients. It calls for asylum support rates to be increased.

The Refugee and Migrant Children’s Consortium is appalled by, and entirely opposed to, the government’s plans to permanently remove people seeking asylum in the UK to Rwanda to have their claims processed, as well as live in Rwanda if their asylum claim is successful. In addition, we are extremely concerned that due to the government’s flawed approach to age disputes there is a significant risk that children will be removed to Rwanda.

This consultation response suggests a range of further ways in which the UK should respond to the mental health needs of refugees, people seeking asylum and survivors of trafficking.

In response to this consultation, we outline what needs to be considered when deciding where to 'disperse' people seeking asylum to, and urge the Home Office to put together a set of minimum standards for dispersal areas to be used as an ongoing reference tool to ensure they those moved to new areas are able to access the services and accommodation they need.

This editorial looks at the government's plans to transfer people to Rwanda to have their asylum claims determined - and the implications of this for the mental health of refugees and asylum-seekers and the health professionals working with this patient group.