The Asylum Support Regulations 2000

Made: 6th March 2000

Laid before Parliament: 13th March 2000

Coming into force: 3rd April 2000

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 94, 95, 97, 114, 166 and 167 of and Schedule 8 to the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999[^f00001], hereby makes the following Regulations:

General

Citation and commencement

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These Regulations may be cited as the Asylum Support Regulations 2000 and shall come into force on 3rd April 2000.

Interpretation

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• (1) In these Regulations—

• “the Act” means the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999;

• “asylum support” means support provided under section 95 of the Act;

• “cohabiting couple” means two people who, though not married to, or civil partners of, each other, are living together as if they were a married couple or civil partners;

• ...

• “dependant” has the meaning given by paragraphs (4) and (5);

• “the interim Regulations” means the Asylum Support (Interim Provisions) Regulations 1999[^f00002];

• ...

• ...

• ...

• (2) The period prescribed under section 94(3) of the Act (day on which a claim for asylum is determined) for the purposes of Part VI of the Act is 28 days where paragraph (2A) applies, and 21 days in any other case.

• (2A) This paragraph applies where:

• (a) the Secretary of State notifies the claimant that his decision is to accept the asylum claim;

• (b) the Secretary of State notifies the claimant that his decision is to reject the asylum claim but at the same time notifies him that he is giving him limited leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom; or

• (c) an appeal by the claimant against the Secretary of State’s decision has been disposed of by being allowed.

• (3) Paragraph (2) does not apply in relation to a case to which the interim Regulations apply (for which case, provision corresponding to paragraph (2) is made by regulation 2(6) of those Regulations).

• (4) In these Regulations “dependant”, in relation to an asylum-seeker, a supported person or an applicant for asylum support, means, subject to paragraph (5), a person in the United Kingdom (“the relevant person”) who—

• (a) is his spouse or civil partner;

• (b) is a child of his or of his spouse or civil partner, is dependant on him and is, or was at the relevant time, under 18;

• (c) is a member of his or his spouse’s or civil partner's close family and is, or was at the relevant time, under 18;

• (d) had been living as part of his household—

• (i) for at least six of the twelve months before the relevant time, or

• (ii) since birth,

and is, or was at the relevant time, under 18;

• (e) is in need of care and attention from him or a member of his household by reason of a disability and would fall within sub-paragraph (c) or (d) but for the fact that he is not, and was not at the relevant time, under 18;

• (f) had been living with him as a member of an cohabiting couple for at least two of the three years before the relevant time;

• (fa) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (g) is living as part of his household and was, immediately before 6th December 1999 (the date when the interim Regulations came into force), receiving assistance from a local authority under section 17 of the Children Act 1989[^f00003];

• (h) is living as part of his household and was, immediately before the coming into force of these Regulations, receiving assistance from a local authority under—

• (i) section 22 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995[^f00004]; or

• (ii) Article 18 of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995[^f00005]; or

• (i) has made a claim for leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom, or for variation of any such leave, which is being considered on the basis that he is dependant on the asylum-seeker;

and in relation to a supported person, or an applicant for asylum support, who is himself a dependant of an asylum-seeker, also includes the asylum-seeker if in the United Kingdom.

• (5) Where a supported person or applicant for asylum support is himself a dependant of an asylum-seeker, a person who would otherwise be a dependant of the supported person, or of the applicant, for the purposes of these Regulations is not such a dependant unless he is also a dependant of the asylum-seeker or is the asylum-seeker.

• (6) In paragraph (4), “the relevant time”, in relation to the relevant person, means—

• (a) the time when an application for asylum support for him was made in accordance with regulation 3(3); or

• (b) if he has joined a person who is already a supported person in the United Kingdom and sub-paragraph (a) does not apply, the time when he joined that person in the United Kingdom.

• (7) Where a person, by falling within a particular category in relation to an asylum-seeker or supported person, is by virtue of this regulation a dependant of the asylum-seeker or supported person for the purposes of these Regulations, that category is also a prescribed category for the purposes of paragraph (c) of the definition of “dependant” in section 94(1) of the Act and, accordingly, the person is a dependant of the asylum-seeker or supported person for the purposes of Part VI of the Act.

• (8) Paragraph (7) does not apply to a person who is already a dependant of the asylum-seeker or supported person for the purposes of Part VI of the Act because he falls within either of the categories mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) of the definition of “dependant” in section 94(1) of the Act.

• (9) Paragraph (7) does not apply for the purposes of any reference to a “dependant” in Schedule 9 to the Act.

Initial application for support

Initial application for support: individual and group applications

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• (1) Either of the following—

• (a) an asylum-seeker, or

• (b) a dependant of an asylum-seeker,

may apply to the Secretary of State for asylum support.

• (2) An application under this regulation may be—

• (a) for asylum support for the applicant alone; or

• (b) for asylum support for the applicant and one or more dependants of his.

• (3) The application must be made by completing in full and in English the form for the time being issued by the Secretary of State for the purpose ....

• (4) The application may not be entertained by the Secretary of State—

• (a) where it is made otherwise than in accordance with paragraph (3); or

• (b) where the Secretary of State is not satisfied that the information provided is complete or accurate or that the applicant is co-operating with enquiries made under paragraph (5).

• (5) The Secretary of State may make further enquiries of the applicant about any matter connected with the application.

• (5A) Where the Secretary of State makes further enquiries under paragraph (5) the applicant shall reply to those enquiries within five working days of his receipt of them.

• (5B) The Secretary of State shall be entitled to conclude that the applicant is not co-operating with his enquiries under paragraph (5) if he fails, without reasonable excuse, to reply within the period prescribed by paragraph (5A).

• (5C) In cases where the Secretary of State may not entertain an application for asylum support he shall also discontinue providing support under section 98 of the Act.

• (6) Paragraphs (3) and (4) do not apply where a person is already a supported person and asylum support is sought for a dependant of his for whom such support is not already provided (for which case, provision is made by regulation 15).

• (7) For the purposes of this regulation, working day means any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a day which is a bank holiday under section 1 of the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 in the locality in which the applicant is living.

Persons excluded from support

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• (1) The following circumstances are prescribed for the purposes of subsection (2) of section 95 of the Act as circumstances where a person who would otherwise fall within subsection (1) of that section is excluded from that subsection (and, accordingly, may not be provided with asylum support).

• (2) A person is so excluded if he is applying for asylum support for himself alone and he falls within paragraph (4) by virtue of any sub-paragraph of that paragraph.

• (3) A person is so excluded if—

• (a) he is applying for asylum support for himself and other persons, or he is included in an application for asylum support made by a person other than himself;

• (b) he falls within paragraph (4) (by virtue of any sub-paragraph of that paragraph); and

• (c) each of the other persons to whom the application relates also falls within paragraph (4) (by virtue of any sub-paragraph of that paragraph).

• (4) A person falls within this paragraph if at the time when the application is determined—

• (a) he is a person to whom interim support applies; or

• (b) he is a person to whom social security benefits apply; or

• (c) he has not made a claim for leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom, or for variation of any such leave, which is being considered on the basis that he is an asylum-seeker or dependent on an asylum-seeker ; or

• (d) he is a national of a member State who has made a claim for asylum, except where that claim for asylum is accepted as admissible (see section 80A of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002); or

• (e) he is the dependant of a person to whom sub-paragraph (d) applies.

• (5) For the purposes of paragraph (4), interim support applies to a person if—

• (a) at the time when the application is determined, he is a person to whom, under the interim Regulations, support under regulation 3 of those Regulations must be provided by a local authority;

• (b) sub-paragraph (a) does not apply, but would do so if the person had been determined by the local authority concerned to be an eligible person; or

• (c) sub-paragraph (a) does not apply, but would do so but for the fact that the person’s support under those Regulations was (otherwise than by virtue of regulation 7(1)(d) of those Regulations) refused under regulation 7, or suspended or discontinued under regulation 8, of those Regulations;

and in this paragraph “local authority”, “local authority concerned” and “eligible person” have the same meanings as in the interim Regulations.

• (6) For the purposes of paragraph (4), a person is a person to whom social security benefits apply if he is—

• (a) a person who by virtue of regulation 2 of the Social Security (Immigration and Asylum) Consequential Amendments Regulations 2000[^f00006] is not excluded by section 115(1) of the Act from entitlement to—

• (i) income-based jobseeker’s allowance under the Jobseekers Act 1995[^f00007]; ...

• (ii) income support, housing benefit or council tax benefit under the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992[^f00008];...

• (iii) income-related employment and support allowance payable under Part 1 of the Welfare Reform Act 2007;or

• (iv) universal credit under Part 1 of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 or Part 2 of the Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015;

• (b) a person who, by virtue of regulation 2 of the Social Security (Immigration and Asylum) Consequential Amendments Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000[^f00009] is not excluded by section 115(2) of the Act from entitlement to—

• (i) income-based jobseeker’s allowance under the Jobseekers (Northern Ireland) Order 1995[^f00010]; ...

• (ii) income support or housing benefit under the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992[^f00011];or

• (iii) income-related employment and support allowance payable under Part 1 of the Welfare Reform Act (Northern Ireland) 2007.

• (7) A person is not to be regarded as falling within paragraph (2) or (3) if, when asylum support is sought for him, he is a dependant of a person who is already a supported person.

• (8) The circumstances prescribed by paragraphs (2) and (3) are also prescribed for the purposes of section 95(2), as applied by section 98(3), of the Act as circumstances where a person who would otherwise fall within subsection (1) of section 98 is excluded from that subsection (and, accordingly, may not be provided with temporary support under section 98).

• (9) For the purposes of paragraph (8), paragraphs (2) and (3) shall apply as if any reference to an application for asylum support were a reference to an application for support under section 98 of the Act.

Determining whether persons are destitute

Determination where application relates to more than one person, etc.

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• (1) Subject to paragraph (2), where an application in accordance with regulation 3(3) is for asylum support for the applicant and one or more dependants of his, in applying section 95(1) of the Act the Secretary of State must decide whether the applicant and all those dependants, taken together, are destitute or likely to become destitute within the period prescribed by regulation 7.

• (2) Where a person is a supported person, and the question falls to be determined whether asylum support should in future be provided for him and one or more other persons who are his dependants and are—

• (a) persons for whom asylum support is also being provided when that question falls to be determined; or

• (b) persons for whom the Secretary of State is then considering whether asylum support should be provided,

in applying section 95(1) of the Act the Secretary of State must decide whether the supported person and all those dependants, taken together, are destitute or likely to become destitute within the period prescribed by regulation 7.

Income and assets to be taken into account

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• (1) This regulation applies where it falls to the Secretary of State to determine for the purposes of section 95(1) of the Act whether—

• (a) a person applying for asylum support, or such an applicant and any dependants of his, or

• (b) a supported person, or such a person and any dependants of his,

is or are destitute or likely to become so within the period prescribed by regulation 7.

• (2) In this regulation “the principal” means the applicant for asylum support (where paragraph (1)(a) applies) or the supported person (where paragraph (1)(b) applies).

• (3) The Secretary of State must ignore—

• (a) any asylum support, and

• (b) any support under section 98 of the Act,

which the principal or any dependant of his is provided with or, where the question is whether destitution is likely within a particular period, might be provided with in that period.

• (4) But he must take into account—

• (a) any other income which the principal, or any dependant of his, has or might reasonably be expected to have in that period;

• (b) any other support which is available to the principal or any dependant of his, or might reasonably be expected to be so available in that period; and

• (c) any assets mentioned in paragraph (5) (whether held in the United Kingdom or elsewhere) which are available to the principal or any dependant of his otherwise than by way of asylum support or support under section 98, or might reasonably be expected to be so available in that period.

• (5) Those assets are—

• (a) cash;

• (b) savings;

• (c) investments;

• (d) land;

• (e) cars or other vehicles; and

• (f) goods held for the purpose of a trade or other business.

• (6) The Secretary of State must ignore any assets not mentioned in paragraph (5).

Period within which applicant must be likely to become destitute

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The period prescribed for the purposes of section 95(1) of the Act is—

• (a) where the question whether a person or persons is or are destitute or likely to become so falls to be determined in relation to an application for asylum support and sub-paragraph (b) does not apply, 14 days beginning with the day on which that question falls to be determined;

• (b) where that question falls to be determined in relation to a supported person, or in relation to persons including a supported person, 56 days beginning with the day on which that question falls to be determined.

Adequacy of existing accommodation

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• (1) Subject to paragraph (2), the matters mentioned in paragraph (3) are prescribed for the purposes of subsection (5)(a) of section 95 of the Act as matters to which the Secretary of State must have regard in determining for the purposes of that section whether the accommodation of—

• (a) a person applying for asylum support, or

• (b) a supported person for whom accommodation is not for the time being provided by way of asylum support,

is adequate.

• (2) The matters mentioned in paragraph (3)(a) and (d) to (g) are not so prescribed for the purposes of a case where the person indicates to the Secretary of State that he wishes to remain in the accommodation.

• (3) The matters referred to in paragraph (1) are—

• (a) whether it would be reasonable for the person to continue to occupy the accommodation;

• (b) whether the accommodation is affordable for him;

• (c) whether the accommodation is provided under section 98 of the Act, or otherwise on an emergency basis, only while the claim for asylum support is being determined;

• (d) whether the person can secure entry to the accommodation;

• (e) where the accommodation consists of a moveable structure, vehicle or vessel designed or adapted for human habitation, whether there is a place where the person is entitled or permitted both to place it and reside in it;

• (f) whether the accommodation is available for occupation by the person’s dependants together with him;

• (g) whether it is probable that the person’s continued occupation of the accommodation will lead to domestic violence against him or any of his dependants.