Cllr Jim Dickson, Cabinet Member for Healthier Communities (Lambeth) & Cllr Jasmine Ali, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Refugees (Southwark)
It is a startling state of affairs that in 2023 and with the UK facing severe labour shortages, our country still bans people seeking refuge from war and conflict from finding work and contributing to our economy. Instead, whilst sanctuary seekers experience excessive and unnecessary Home Office delays in getting their asylum claims processed, claimants are expected to languish in hotel accommodation living on just £5.84 per day.
This wanton government enforced waste of a valuable resource for our communities, in which 575 sanctuary seekers in Lambeth and 1032 in Southwark are prevented from working and supporting their families and each other, is both practically and morally indefensible. It not only denies those who have fled to our country the basic dignity of being able to contribute but also places arrivals – particularly young people – at risk of modern slavery and exploitation by people that are aware of their dire financial situation.
With only one third of asylum applications receiving an initial decision within one year, the Lift the Ban coalition estimates that allowing asylum seekers to work could add up to £333m per year to GDP. Follow up work with our cohort of guests, with us in Lambeth as part of the Homes for Ukraine scheme (where work is permitted and encouraged), indicates very high proportions (between 80-90%) of those living in our community have found paid employment, adding so much to our local businesses and services. Sanctuary Seekers from all other countries – with the exception of some refugees from Afghanistan – are restricted to waiting over a year and can then only apply for employment from the Government’s Shortage Occupation List, a highly restrictive list with jobs for which many don’t qualify. The UK’s one-year wait policy is the most stringent in Europe, with other countries allowing people seeking asylum the right to work after a wait between one day and 9 months. In doing so we are missing out on deploying the skills of architects, engineers and people such as Sara a recent arrival to Lambeth fleeing civil war in Sudan who speaks great English and has worked for many years in the aviation industry. She and others could do so much to help her family and our community.
Both Lambeth and Southwark Councils have passed motions calling on the Government to restore the right to work for everyone waiting over 6 months for a decision on their asylum claim, so that they can increase their independence and meet the wellbeing needs of themselves and their families. People seeking asylum should be able to live with dignity and respect, and to contribute to UK society, integrate into their communities and provide for themselves and their families. We have seen first-hand in our boroughs how right to work restrictions significantly impact asylum seekers’ mental health and contribute to a waste of invaluable talents and skills for the economies of Lambeth, Southwark and the UK.
The responsibility now is with the Home Secretary to end this ‘performative cruelty’ and prevent even more people being stripped of this important right. On behalf of our south London communities we say loud and clear that it is time to lift the ban.