The Home Office has been accused of “blocking” MPs from helping desperate asylum seeker constituents despite backlogs within the department.
Labour MP Kate Osamor has been seeking to help a family of five, including a newborn, facing imminent homelessness in her Edmonton constituency.
They submitted an asylum application last September but until it is dealt with, the parents are unable to work, have no access to public funds and their children cannot attend school.
But Ms Osamor says when she contacted the Migrant Help charity on their behalf, she was told they were unable to deal with MPs directly.
Migrant Help runs a guidance and advice helpline to assist asylum seekers in the UK as they move through the process. The charity is not part of the Home Office but is the advice, issue reporting and eligibility (AIRE) provider appointed by the department.
In an email sent to Ms Osamor and seen by The Independent, a Migrant Help adviser said: “I am afraid Migrant Help are not contracted to respond to MPs correspondence and have forwarded the attached to the MP correspondence team. However one of our call handlers will reach out to the service user to see if there is any further support they can provide.
“I would like to clarify that not responding to MP enquiries is not a Migrant Help policy but a directive given to us by the Home Office as part of our work under the advice, issue reporting and eligibility (AIRE) contract. I have expressed concerns regarding this process.”
Because of the urgency and severity of the case, Migrant Help said it raised it with the Home Office to be granted permission to directly contact the asylum seekers and provide support.
The government argues the Home Office is better placed to deal with such queries from MPs.
However, Ms Osamor claimed the department was “putting more barriers” in the way of vulnerable people seeking help. She argued that the approach is “ridiculous” given current backlogs for asylum seekers are at a record high.
The backlog topped 160,000 for the first time since records began at the end of last year. A total of 160,919 people were waiting for an initial decision on their claim at the end of December – up 60 per cent for the same period in 2021. The number of people waiting more than six months for an initial decision has also soared, with 109,641 of those cases outstanding at the end of 2022 – a 77 per cent year-on-year jump.
“It’s bizarre that the Home Office appears to have ordered Migrant Help not to respond to MPs,” Ms Osamor told The Independent. “With Home Office delays out of control many MPs like myself have been inundated with constituents who need help with immigration issues. To do that I often need to speak to organisations like Migrant Help.
“This feels like the Home Office have stepped in to sabotage MPs and prevent us from doing our jobs.”
Clare Moseley, founder of Care4Calais also criticised the approach, claiming it “lacked transparency”.
“What’s the difference between an MP getting in touch with Migrant Help and us getting in touch with Migrant Help to support an asylum seeker?” Ms Moseley asked. “It’s a lack of transparency, it’s like they don’t want MPs to know what’s going on – or not going on and that is concerning. There are no excuses left for not clearing this backlog.
“The question is what are they hiding? What don’t they want MPs to know.”
A Migrant Help spokesperson said: “Migrant Help has been directed by the Home Office to forward any MP enquiries related to the advice, issue reporting and eligibility (AIRE) contract to their MP correspondence team, who will investigate and respond to the MP.
“In all cases, we would contact the constituents/people referred to by the MP in the enquiry directly, to offer our assistance and to ensure we’re supporting them in a timely manner.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Queries from MPs about constituents with asylum and migration-related issues are directed to the Home Office.
“Often the department is better placed to respond to these queries and this helps ensure MPs get the fastest and most comprehensive response.”
