Disabled asylum seekers and refugees are an under-represented and unknown group. Rod Hermeston reports on the struggle faced by those entering Britain to escape persecution and sometimes death

They are sometimes portrayed as invading hoards who just want to take British jobs and claim British benefits.

But asylum seekers and refugees frequently have harrowing tales to tell. For them, this country represents a haven from persecution and even death.

Yet many disabled asylum seekers see only the uncaring face of Britain.

Dr Keri Roberts, a research fellow at York University's Social Policy Research Unit, says: "There is no official source you can use to identify who disabled refugees are and how many there are. The data is just not there".

She has made estimates that range between 5,000 and 26,500. And she fears that the lack of information about disabled asylum seekers and refugees is being used as an excuse to avoid providing services.

As part of her ongoing research she has interviewed 39 disabled asylum seekers and has identified some of the problems they face.

The National Asylum Support Service (NASS) has been responsible since 2000 for asylum seekers who can show that they are destitute.

The government claims full account is taken of disabled asylum seekers' needs when they first enter the system.

They are put in emergency accommodation when first arriving in the UK and are then "dispersed" around the country while they await a decision on their future.

Accommodation can be inappropriate. People with mobility impairments are sometimes put in second floor rooms which they have to share with strangers, says Roberts.

But if they turn down a place which NASS deems to be appropriate, support is withdrawn.

This can be a particular problem for some disabled people if they are sent to cities where they don't have friends to provide care, says Roberts.

While local authorities have a duty to carry out community care assessments, many people are not told. When they are told, authorities can simply fob them off, she adds.

Alison Fenney, head of policy at the Refugee Council, says that there is a lack of clarity over who has responsibility for meeting the needs of disabled people.

If authorities decide, for instance, that a person needs to be rehoused, NASS says it will not pay for that. The Home Office argues this situation is unlikely to arise because appropriate housing is already provided.

Fenney says: "I think the best way of doing it is for NASS to contract with local authorities and pay them for housing costs and subsistence costs, while the authority should pay for any additional assistance costs."

Another problem is that unlike refugees who have been given permission to remain in Britain, asylum seekers cannot claim benefits including Disability Living Allowance.

And instead of receiving other benefits, asylum seekers are issued with vouchers to meet their living expenses. These can only be spent in certain shops.

That means that people with mobility problems who cannot apply for a free bus pass may be forced to trust people who they do not know to go out and spend their vouchers, says Roberts.

The Home Office insists that the needs of disabled asylum seekers are taken into account at the outset.
A spokesperson claimed, for instance, that disabled asylum seekers are already placed in clusters of people from their own ethnic backgrounds who can support them. She says: "We work towards placing people together where there is some kind of support network for them."

But Fenney insists the system is not sensitive enough to meet the needs of disabled people.

"I just don't think there has been any serious thought given to the needs of people with disabilities," she says.

"It needs much better liaison between NASS and local authorities. If local authorities cannot provide, then they need to consider where the communities are which might support a disabled person."

So what is being done to change the situation?

The government plans to phase out vouchers and to offer board and lodging in a network of accommodation centres. A white paper on this and other issues was due to be published as Disability Now newspaper went to press.

Fenney welcomed the plans to scrap the voucher scheme but says that disabled asylum seekers are still not being given enough money.

It seems there is a long way to go before the needs of disabled asylum seekers will be met.

Posted: 4 Mar, 2002