A MAJORITY of Scots want the UK Government to give asylum seekers the right to work, a new poll has found.
Some 62% of Scottish adults said that people who are waiting for a Home Office decision on their asylum applications should be able to work, according to a Survation survey for the Scottish Refugee Council (SRC).
As it stands, the UK Government bans people seeking asylum from getting a job – except in limited circumstances such as if they have been waiting more than one year for a decision and are qualified to work in sectors where there are shortages, such as social care.
In late 2022, Labour said they supported reducing this waiting period to six months. However, they have since U-turned and in power have kept the Tory policy in place.
The Scottish Government, in a report in December 2023, noted that “before mid-2002 asylum seekers in the UK were allowed to work after a waiting period of six months from submission of their asylum claim”, and called for a return to that system.
The SRC said the new poll showed the public support asylum seekers’ right to work – rather than taking money from the public purse.
The Survation poll found that 47% of Scots believe that asylum seekers receive more than £50 each week – while 23% believe it is £100 or more.
A quarter of Scots (25%) correctly recognised that people seeking asylum live on less than £50 per week – with many forced to live on less than £10.
People currently living in accommodation where meals are provided receive just £8.86 per week, while people staying in accommodation with facilities to cook their own meals have £49.18 to spend per week.
“Our charity has helped people rebuild their lives in Scotland for forty years. During this time, we’ve known thousands of qualified doctors, nurses, teachers who have been denied the right to earn a living while waiting years for a decision on their asylum application. This takes a huge toll on people whose lives have been turned upside down by events beyond their control.
“Many of the men and women using our services have expressed their frustration at not being able to work and provide for themselves and their families. We have been told repeatedly: ‘We don’t want handouts, we want to work.’”
Daniel O’Malley, a policy specialist with the SRC, added: “This polling shows that there is a clear disconnect between how much people seeking asylum actually have to live on, and how much the wider public think they do.
“When you consider that £8.86 per week – just £1.26 per day – is supposed to cover transport, clothing, toiletries and other basic essentials, it doesn’t go far. We might think of hotels as a luxury, but the reality of staying long-term in a hotel room and living on less than £10 a week is really tough.
“Everyone needs a safe home and enough money to cover the basics, including those who are coping with the anxiety and stress of fleeing warzones and violent regimes.
“The current asylum system traps people in poverty while at the same time prohibiting people from earning a living to support themselves and their families.”
The Survation poll surveyed more than 2100 Scots for the SRC.
