PRESSURE is growing on Sajid Javid to allow asylum seekers to work in a desperate hunt across Government for new cash streams. The Treasury has demanded the Home Secretary reduce the spiralling bill for claimants in the UK, which now stretches into the hundreds of millions every year. One idea being looked at is to […]
PRESSURE is growing on Sajid Javid to allow asylum seekers to work in a desperate hunt across Government for new cash streams.
The Treasury has demanded the Home Secretary reduce the spiralling bill for claimants in the UK, which now stretches into the hundreds of millions every year.
One idea being looked at is to end the long standing ban on foreign nationals who have claimed asylum taking jobs.
The controversial move – which could be pushed through as part of new post-Brexit immigration rules – would save the Treasury a fortune in paying out handouts as well as bringing in extra income tax.
But it is being strongly opposed by Mr Javid and his officials.
A Home Office source said: “We will resist this. How can we allow people to work in any job that involves a degree of trust when we are yet to establish exactly who they are?”
Around 40,000 people claim asylum every year, with applications taking as long as two years to process.
Each asylum seeker and their dependents are given a Government handout of £37.75 to live on – adding up to an annual bill of around £155m.
Their rent is also paid for, as bona fide asylum seekers are also given free accommodation.
Asylum seekers blocked from working in the UK could make a net contribution of £42m to the economy, campaigners recently calculated.
In the run up to the Whitehall-wide spending review in the Autumn, the Home Office is locked in a bitter fight with the Treasury for more money across its responsibilities, from police numbers to border enforcement.
But Treasury chiefs are insisting any new demands for cash must be paid for by Mr Javid from within his own budget.
Whitehall insiders have blamed a decision by Theresa May to give the NHS an £20bn a year for a major new tightening on public finances.
Chancellor Philip Hammond’s aides last night insisted he was not to blame for the bid.
A Treasury spokeswoman insisted: “This is not a proposal that has come from us.
“The Treasury sets overall spending limits, and it is for individual departments to decide how they will be met.”
