More impoverishment for Glasgow asylum seekers

… and an appeal for donations

View this email in your browser More impoverishment for Glasgow Asylum Seekers as Aspen card switch leaves families Without Food or Money Dear Friend, This is just to let you know that we are receiving a high number of reports of impoverishment from asylum seekers in Glasgow since yesterday.  The Home Office recently ended its Aspen Card contract with Sodexo and began a new contract with Prepaid Financial Services. Asylum seekers in accommodation are meant to receive just over £5 a day. Hotel based asylum seekers are meant to get £8 a week. But many are now being left penniless.  We advised hundreds of asylum seeking clients to be ready for the change. Caseworkers were concerned there might be problems. Unfortunately, that is exactly what has happened, with little regard for such a vulnerable community that is reduced to depending on the state for accommodation and money because they are forbidden to work and pay taxes. The problems being reported are numerous, below are just some of the messages we received: "I have an activating issue with the Aspen card" "I don't receive my new Aspen card" "I haven't got my new aspen card and my old aspen card does not work any more so I do not have money to buy food please help" "I am not receiving my new Aspen card for now and have no money for food" "I didn't have new card and have no money" "Im still not receiving my orange card and my green card has stopped" "I have not receive my ASPEN card yet. I have been calling migrant help for past three days they keep asking me to wait" "Please I'm not able to get any money from the new card, it's not even showing account balance and I haven't got any money" "For those who have a 2000 birthday year . How can they activate their date of birth?" This latest emergency is on top of the existing money crisis taking place for hotel asylum seekers across Glasgow, and across the U.K.  The Home Office (HO) is leaving many hotel based asylum seekers without any money at all for months despite a  High Court ruling in Oct 2020 that the Home Office must give £8 a week plus backdated money. Last month, 75 people in hotels reported to us that they were not receiving £8 a week hotel subsistence. Our Homelessness Team took up each case with Migrant Help who then were supposed to take it to the Home Office. A few people got £8 a week . But many continue to go ignored. The Home Office has still not given asylum seekers the backdated money they are owed going back many months , in some cases over a year since March 2020. the Home Office has advised MigrantHelp that it will "assess eligibility" once people have been moved to flats. Please do write to your MP to highlight our concerns about the way people are being treated. Because of the pandemic, asylum seekers are not being moved out of hotels, in fact the numbers have built up. Across the U.K. there are around 12,500 people in hotels, whereas at the start of Lockdown there were around 2,500.  We have alerted our Volunteers for additional support. We have also begun distributing emergency food vouchers, food supplies from our Emergency Food Cupboard, and emergency crisis grants. You can read the full statement about the situation here. To keep in touch with our casework and campaigns please see our website or like us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.   To give a very much needed regular or one off donation, please visit www.positiveactionh.org/donate.   Thank you for your support, Robina Qureshi Director Our mailing address is: Positive Action in Housing 98 W George Street Glasgow, G2 1PJ United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.