Public Transport Access for Asylum Seekers

Elly Baker AM moved, and Anne Clarke AM seconded the following motion:

“The Assembly believes that London is a welcoming city and wants it to remain that way. It notes that asylum seekers, who are often fleeing violence or persecution, are generally unable to work and given as little as £8.86 per week to cover all non-food costs, while they await a decision on their asylum claim.

While the Home Office does fund reasonable travel to mandatory appointments, this still leaves asylum seekers unable to travel to necessary appointments relating to their asylum claim as well as to vital services, such as healthcare and ESOL classes, because of the cost of public transport.

It’s important that asylum seekers have opportunities to integrate into wider society, especially given the majority of asylum claims are granted.1 The cost of public transport acts as a barrier to this process.

The Assembly welcomes Citizens UK’s tireless campaigning on this issue alongside asylum seekers.

The Assembly calls on the Mayor to:

• Work with a range of partners, including London boroughs, voluntary sector organisations working directly with asylum seekers, and the NHS, on ways to support public transport access for asylum seekers, such as with travel vouchers, to enable access to necessary journeys.
• Work with Government to design a long-term solution to the challenging and complex problem of providing asylum seekers with affordable accesses to public transport. “

Following debate and upon being put to the vote, the motion was agreed with 15 votes in favour and 1 against.