A majority of AMs yesterday agreed a motion calling for Mayor of London Boris Johnson to join them in lobbying Government ministers to support the Still Human Still Here’ campaign, a coalition of more than 40 organisations seeking “to end the destitution of thousands of refused asylum seekers in the UK.”
Darren Johnson AM, who proposed the agreed motion, said: “The majority of asylum seekers survive on just £5 a day. If asylum seekers were allowed to earn a living and pay their own way, it would improve their self-esteem and self-reliance. It would also reduce some of the hostility they face and the burden on the taxpayer.”
The full text of the motion, which was agreed by a majority of the Assembly, reads:
“This Assembly supports the Still Human Still Here campaign calling for asylum seekers who have been waiting for more than six months for their cases to be concluded, or who have been refused asylum but temporarily cannot be returned home through no fault of their own, to be given permission to work until their cases are finally resolved. This policy would provide a route out of poverty for those affected, the majority of whom live in London, and reduce the burden on the taxpayer and the charitable sector.
“This Assembly resolves to make representations to the UK Government in support of this campaign, and calls on the Mayor to join it in making these representations, including by commissioning supporting evidence regarding the impact on London from GLA Economics.:
