Abstract
This chapter shares insights into the asylum seeker picture in the UK regarding policy and human rights considerations through a Stoke-on-Trent case study based on primary research findings. Interviews with 19 professionals working in the charity, faith and public sector provide evidence of the poverty and destitution experienced by asylum seekers dispersed to Stoke-on-Trent. Stoke-on-Trent is a popular government dispersal area with pre-existing health and social inequalities. Whilst support services are lifesaving to asylum seekers, the government provides very little additional financial support to the City to address asylum seeker needs. Furthermore, government policy has restrictions on asylum seekers gaining employment which adds to financial strains experienced by asylum seekers and the wider economy. This chapter advocates for policy reform.
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Page, S. (2023). Seeking Asylum and Refuge: Poverty, Destitution and Unemployment. In: Page, S., Coates, M., Tipping, J., Frangos, J., Goldstraw, K. (eds) Action on Poverty in the UK . Sustainable Development Goals Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-37182-0_17
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