| Hi there, Here is an update on the Home Office Aspen Card Scandal which has forced thousands of asylum seeking families and individuals across the U.K. into a state of destitution because of a botched transfer of asylum debit card contracts, and which has affected this charity's operations significantly. Since Monday, our Homelessness Team in Glasgow has received more than 250 calls, visits and messages from asylum seekers in Glasgow, and more than 100 from those in other parts of the U.K., asking for help with money for food because of the Aspen Card Switch.
Asylum seeking families have been without money to buy food or essential purchases since Friday 21 May 2021 because of a switchover of asylum seekers' debit cards from Sodexo to a company called PrePayment Financial Services.
Prior to the change, families were told to "stock up" on food because their old cards would be switched off, from Friday 21 May until Monday 24 May.When you are already living in a state of forced destitution, on as little as £5.39 a day, forbidden to work or save money – then it is simply not possible to stockpile food. It has now been almost a week and the emergency appears to be just growing.
Complaints have flooded in since Monday when the Home Office ended its Aspen Card contract with Sodexo and switched to a new contract with Prepaid Financial Services. (The Aspen Card is a type of debit card given to asylum seekers).
The ones affected
Those affected include elderly people, families with babies and young children, single men and women, amongst them people with mental health trauma, as well as physical health problems. Language differences and problems with access to digital technology are compounding the difficulties for people.
Complaints include people's cards being activated but when they go to shops to buy food, the card is declined with a message saying to contact their bank. People have gone to ATMs and found there is a limit on cash withdrawals or that there is nothing on the card. Balances of a few pounds from the previous week have been wiped and there are worries about when their card will be sent.
The Home Office claims that the switchover is simply "teething problems". We refute this. Based on what we are witnessing since Monday 24 May this is a full scale emergency, not "teething problems" The Home Office also claims that a system of emergency payments is in place. But it is the system of emergency payments which has crashed in on an already impoverished community. The additional cash payments can only be accessed by calling Migrant Help (Home Office Contracted HelpLine) but the phone lines there are ringing out and people are telling our Homelessness Team that they are waiting hours to be spoken to and lines cut dead. The people who suffer are the ones living under the shadow of the Home Office and it's contractors.
The reverberations of this crisis will be felt for months to come. This is a vulnerable community already impoverished by asylum rules forbidding paid work or to save money. (Asylum seekers in accommodation are meant to receive just over £5 a day. Hotel based asylum seekers are meant to get £8 a week). This state of impoverishment can go on for months or years.
What are we doing?
1) Positive Action in Housing is running an emergency service throughout the Bank Holiday period to ensure families in Glasgow have access to food and essentials. 2) We are writing to the Home Office on behalf of individual clients to make urgent requests for working Aspen Cards with money on them. 3) We have begun an emergency distribution of £11,000 of emergency grants to 145 households in Glasgow, identified as vulnerable (eg children and babies, elderly, people needing to travel for essential appointments).
4) We are distributing £4,000 worth of emergency food vouchers.
5) We have mobilised our 200 strong volunteer network in Glasgow to assist with donations of emergency food packs and signposted people to food banks across the U.K.
Call to Action
Write to your MP in your own words (using any of the text above) and also to the Home Secretary, and express your concerns.
We would like to know what piloting or testing of the New Aspen Card the Home Office undertook before inflicting further hardship on thousands of adults and children already living in a state of near destitution as well as blatant hostility for their presence in the U.K..
Remember to to copy your correspondence to home@positiveactionh.org. (Our detailed statement and full contact details for the Home Secretary can be found here).
Donate to this emergency via CAF, JustGiving or PayPal Giving. Alternatively, post a cheque to: Positive Action in Housing, 98 West George St Glasgow G2 1PJ. For other ways to give, visit our donate page. Companies can ask us to invoice them by emailing us.
Finally, watch out for updates on our blog or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. And please use hashtag #AspenCardScandal and tag @positiveactionh if you want use social media to highlight this scandal.
Thank you, as ever, for your support,
Robina Qureshi
Director |
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