VOUCHER SYSTEM FOR ASYLUM SEEKERS

Early day motion 1046, tabled 10 March 2009 by Neil Gerrard (Labour). Signed by 79 members.

That this House notes that people seeking asylum whose claims have been refused and who are unable to return home receive section 4 support in the form of supermarket vouchers; welcomes the Refugee Council's recent report, More Token Gestures, which reveals that this voucher system fails to meet the needs of this vulnerable group of people, exacerbates the hardships they face and leaves them open to hostility and abuse; further notes that vouchers are costly to administer and damaging to community relations; and therefore calls on the Government to abandon the inhumane voucher system without delay and to allow people on section 4 support to receive support in cash rather than vouchers and to have the entitlement to work to support themselves.

Signatures by party: Labour 38, Liberal Democrat 30, Conservative 3, Independent 3, Social Democratic and Labour Party 2, Independent Labour 1, Plaid Cymru 1, Scottish National Party 1.