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Exclusive: Home Office 'puts more obstacles' in the way of vulnerable people seeking help, says Labor MP Labor Kate Osamor says she tried to help a family at risk of homelessness The Home Office has been accused of "preventing" MPs from helping desperate voters seeking asylum despite delays in the department.
Labor MP Kate Osamor seeks to help a family of five, including a newborn baby, who are facing impending homelessness in their Edmonton constituency.
They applied for asylum last September but until it is processed the parents cannot work, they do not have access to public funds and their children cannot go to school.
But Ms Osamor says that when she contacted the charity Migrant Help on their behalf, she was told they could not deal directly with MPs.
Migrant Help operates a guidance and counseling helpline to help asylum seekers in the UK through the process. The charity is not part of the Home Office, but is the Department's designated Advice, Problem Reporting and Eligibility (AIRE) provider.
“I would like to clarify that not responding to the requests of the deputies is not a policy to help migrants, but a directive that Home Office gave us as part of our work under the consulting contract, Reporting Issues and Eligibility (AIRE). I have expressed concerns about this process.
Due to the urgency and seriousness of the matter, Migrant Help said it has asked the Home Office for permission to directly contact asylum seekers and provide them with support.
The government argues that the Home Office is in a better position to deal with such questions from parliamentarians.
Interior Minister Suella Braverman faces criticism for the delay
However, Ms Osamor claimed the department was "putting more obstacles" in the path of vulnerable people seeking help. She argued that the approach is "ridiculous" given that the current backlog of asylum seekers is at an all-time high.
The backlog topped 160,000 for the first time since records began late last year. A total of 160,919 people were waiting for a first decision on their application at the end of December, an increase of 60% compared to the same period in 2021. The number of people waiting more than six months for a first decision also skyrocketed, with 109,641 cases of this type pending at the end of 2022, a jump of 77% year-on-year.
"It gives the impression that the Home Office intervened to sabotage parliamentarians and prevent us from doing our job."
Clare Moseley, founder of Care4Calais, also criticized the approach, saying it "lacks transparency".
“What is the difference between a parliamentarian contacting Migrant Help and us contacting Migrant Help to support an asylum seeker?” asked Mrs. Moseley. “It is a lack of transparency, it is as if they did not want parliamentarians to know what is happening, or what is not happening, and that is worrying. There are no more excuses for not eliminating this backlog.
“The question is what are they hiding? What they do not want parliamentarians to know.
A Migrant Help spokesperson said: “Migrant Help has been instructed by the Home Office to forward all inquiries from MPs regarding the Advice, Reporting and Eligibility (AIRE) contract to their team. MP Correspondence, which will investigate and respond to the MP.
"In all cases, we would communicate directly with the constituents/individuals named by the parliamentarian in the survey, to offer our assistance and ensure we support them in a timely manner."
A Home Office spokesman said: 'Questions from MPs about voters with asylum and migration problems are directed to the Home Office.
"Often the department is best placed to answer these questions, helping to ensure MPs get the quickest and most comprehensive answer."
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