Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Wales

Who are Asylum Seekers and Refugees?

A Refugee is defined by the 1951 Geneva Convention as:

‘someone who has a well founded fear of persecution for reasons of their race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside their country of origin, and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.’

• The 1951 Geneva Convention was drafted in response to the atrocities of the Holocaust
• The UK is home to less than 3% of the world’s refugees

An Asylum Seeker is:

‘Someone who is waiting for his or her application to be recognised as a refugee to be considered by the government.’

• A single asylum seeker aged 25 or over gets £42.62 a week, this is around two thirds the level of income support

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In 2001 the UK Government designated specific areas throughout the country as dispersal areas for asylum seekers arriving to the UK.

Four local authorities in Wales are designated asylum seeker dispersal areas. Asylum seekers are dispersed to National Asylum Support Service accommodation located in:

• Cardiff
• Newport
• Swansea
• Wrexham

In each of the dispersal areas the Local Authority is responsible for arranging asylum seeker’s access to accommodation and services and managing the integration of asylum seekers to the area.

The Home Office publish statistics on the number of asylum applications every quarter, information includes key trends in asylum applications, initial decisions and appeals, regional location of asylum seekers, and demographic characteristics of asylum applicants, visit the Home Office research, development and immigration website for more statistical information on asylum seekers in Wales.

Regional distribution of asylum seekers (including dependants) in dispersed accommodation by local authority in Wales June 2008

Source: Home Office (June 2008).

Refugees and asylum seekers make up 0.3% of the Welsh population

Policy Context in Wales

Although immigration issues are not devolved to the Welsh Assembly Government, public services such as education, housing and health are devolved and therefore the Welsh Assembly Government plays a key part in supporting asylum seekers and refugees in Wales. On the 17 June 2008 the Welsh Assembly Government published its Refugee Inclusion Strategy. The Strategy sets out how the Assembly Government will support and enable refugees to rebuild their lives in Wales and make a full contribution to society. It also documents the progress made to date in achieving refugee inclusion in Wales. Download a copy of the Refugee Inclusion Strategy here.

An additional feature of the distinct Welsh approach to policy affecting asylum seekers and refugees is in relation to health care for asylum seekers whose claim for asylum has been turned down. Failed asylum seekers in Wales do have access to free health care - unlike their counterparts in England. Previously, the Welsh assembly had passed regulations to introduce charging for secondary healthcare for refused asylum seekers. The regulations, which meant charges for all forms of secondary care, except treatment provided in accident and emergency (A&E) departments, were passed in April 2004. The decision taken by Ms Edwina Hart Minister for Health and Social Services in May 2008 came amid turmoil about the policy in England, where a test case in front of the High Court in April 2008 has left the position of failed asylum seekers and their access to the NHS uncertain. Until then, free health care was cut off for all failed asylum seekers in England and Wales. The Department of Health in England is appealing against the ruling in a test case, which said there were some circumstances in which failed asylum seekers could get free access to NHS treatment. The Department of Health in England is taking legal action to restrict free access to the NHS to this group.

For more information on what the Welsh Government is doing to support asylum seekers and refugees living in Wales, visit the Welsh Government's website.