Asylum seekers face loss of housing, benefits under overhaul

Caitlin Doherty, The Independent

Asylum seekers could lose their automatic right to housing and financial support under Labour's radical immigration crackdown. Home secretary Shabana Mahmood will indicate a move away from EU law as she announces plans to scrap the UK's statutory duty to provide support to asylum seekers — with migrants also facing stricter requirements to receive and retain benefits. It is part of a major overhaul of the immigration system, inspired by the Danish model, and comes as Labour battles to restore public trust in the asylum system to see off the threat of a Reform UK government. But Ms Mahmood may face objections from some Labour backbenchers, with immigration reform seen as a divisive issue within the party.

Ahead of a speech by the home secretary laying out the reforms on Monday, the Home Office said that support will "no longer be a given" for asylum seekers, vowing that automatic handouts for those seeking refuge "will end". The announcement is being billed by the government as the largest overhaul of asylum policy in modern times and a move to "restore order" to the rules. Ministers hope it will reduce the incentive for small boat migrants to claim refuge in the UK, with Home Office officials insisting Britain will no longer be a "magnet for illegal migrants" seeking to benefit. Outlining her changes, Ms Mahmood said the "pace and scale of migration" is putting "immense pressure" on communities.

She said: "This country has a proud tradition of welcoming those fleeing danger, but our generosity is drawing illegal migrants across the channel. "The pace and scale of migration is placing immense pressure on communities.

"This week I will set out the most sweeping changes to our asylum system in a generation. We will restore order and control to our borders."

The legal duty to provide asylum-seeking support was introduced in the UK in 2005 under EU law. Currently, support includes the right to somewhere to live, as well as a weekly payment of £49.18 per person in each household to cover costs of items such as food, clothing and toiletries. If the accommodation provides meals, each person gets £9.95 per week instead. There are small increases for pregnant women and young children. Under Ms Mahmood's plans, those who can work, have assets, fail to comply with removal directions, engage in criminality, disrupt accommodation settings or work illegally could have their support removed, the Home Office said.

The changes are set to apply to people who are already in the asylum support system, as well as anybody who arrives and applies in the future — meaning those already in the UK could have their support taken away. Meanwhile, officials have also said that taxpayer-funded benefits will be prioritised for people who are "making a contribution to the economy and communities". Among the changes expected to be unveiled on Monday is a move requiring judges to prioritise public safety over a migrant's right to a family life, as well as a push to scrap permanent asylum in Britain.

Under current rules, those granted refugee status can apply for indefinite leave to remain and have refugee status for five years. But, under the expected proposals, refugees will be removed as soon as their home country is deemed safe.

It comes after officials in the Home Office visited Copenhagen as part of their attempts to learn about Denmark's asylum policy, where a strict asylum approach has been taken by a government with similar political alignment to the Labour Party. The country is also a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights, which has been criticised in the past for blocking or slowing efforts to deport illegal migrants. The Scandinavian country has reduced the number of asylum applications to their lowest level in 40 years, and removed 95 per cent of rejected asylum seekers, according to the Home Office.

The Tories have said that some of the new measures are "welcome" but they "stop well short of what is really required and some are just yet more gimmicks — like the previous 'smash the gangs' gimmick". Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: "The truth is this Labour government is incapable of getting any real change past their left-wing backbenchers, especially after the weak example they set with the debacle of their botched welfare reforms." Labour is coming under pressure on immigration as Reform's poll numbers continue to surge. Nigel Farage's party is sitting at 26 per cent in the latest YouGov Westminster voting intention figures from this week, with Labour lagging behind on 19 per cent, just ahead of the Tories on 18 per cent.

This is the latest in a series of crackdowns, including the immigration white paper earlier this year, designed to slash legal migration. Under those plans announced in May, legal migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before applying for citizenship, and language requirements will be upped for all routed into the UK. The number of asylum applications in the UK is at a record high, as the latest Home Office figures show 111,084 people applied for asylum in the year to June 2025. This is the highest number for any 12 months since records began in 2001.