The Asylum Support (Amendment) Regulations 2005

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Asylum Support (Amendment) Regulations 2005 and shall come into force on 5th February 2005.

Amendment of the Asylum Support Regulations 2000

2.  The Asylum Support Regulations 2000(1) shall be amended as follows.

3.  In regulation 3—

(a) after regulation 3(5) there shall be inserted:

“(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.”.

(b) after regulation 3(6) there shall be inserted:

“(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(2) in the locality in which the applicant is living.”.

4.  After regulation 17, there shall be inserted:

“Recovery of asylum support

17A.— (1) The Secretary of State may require a supported person to refund asylum support if it transpires that at any time during which asylum support was being provided for him he was not destitute.

(2) If a supported person has dependants, the Secretary of State may require him to refund asylum support if it transpires that at any time during which asylum support was being provided for the supported person and his dependants they were not destitute.

(3) The refund required shall not exceed the monetary value of all the asylum support provided to the supported person or to the supported person and his dependants for the relevant period.

(4) In this regulation the relevant period is the time during which asylum support was provided for the supported person or the supported person and his dependants and during which he or they were not destitute.

(5) If not paid within a reasonable period, the refund required may be recovered from the supported person as if it were a debt due to the Secretary of State.”.

5.  In regulation 19 (Breach of conditions: decision whether to provide support)—

(a) in paragraph (1) for “the extent to which any” there shall be substituted “the extent to which a”;

(b) for paragraph (2) there shall be substituted:

“(2) A relevant condition is one which makes the provision of asylum support subject to actual residence by the supported person or a dependant of his for whom support is being provided in a specific place or location.”.

6.  For regulation 20 (Suspension or discontinuation of support) there shall be substituted:

“Suspension or discontinuation of support

20.— (1) Asylum support for a supported person and any dependant of his or for one or more dependants of a supported person may be suspended or discontinued if—

(a) support is being provided for the supported person or a dependant of his in collective accommodation and the Secretary of State has reasonable grounds to believe that the supported person or his dependant has committed a serious breach of the rules of that accommodation;

(b) the Secretary of State has reasonable grounds to believe that the supported person or a dependant of his for whom support is being provided has committed an act of seriously violent behaviour whether or not that act occurs in accommodation provided by way of asylum support or at the authorised address or elsewhere;

(c) the supported person or a dependant of his has committed an offence under Part VI of the Act;

(d) the Secretary of State has reasonable grounds to believe that the supported person or any dependant of his for whom support is being provided has abandoned the authorised address without first informing the Secretary of State or, if requested, without permission;

(e) the supported person has not complied within a reasonable period, which shall be no less than five working days beginning with the day on which the request was received by him, with requests for information made by the Secretary of State and which relate to the supported person’s or his dependant’s eligibility for or receipt of asylum support including requests made under regulation 15;

(f) the supported person fails, without reasonable excuse, to attend an interview requested by the Secretary of State relating to the supported person’s or his dependant’s eligibility for or receipt of asylum support;

(g) the supported person or, if he is an asylum seeker, his dependant, has not complied within a reasonable period, which shall be no less than ten working days beginning with the day on which the request was received by him, with a request for information made by the Secretary of State relating to his claim for asylum;

(h) the Secretary of State has reasonable grounds to believe that the supported person or a dependant of his for whom support is being provided has concealed financial resources and that the supported person or a dependant of his or both have therefore unduly benefited from the receipt of asylum support;

(i) the supported person or a dependant of his for whom support is being provided has not complied with a reporting requirement;

(j) the Secretary of State has reasonable grounds to believe that the supported person or a dependant of his for whom support is being provided has made a claim for asylum (“the first claim”) and before the first claim has been determined makes or seeks to make a further claim for asylum not being part of the first claim in the same or a different name; or

(k) the supported person or a dependant of his for whom support is being provided has failed without reasonable excuse to comply with a relevant condition.

(2) If a supported person is asked to attend an interview of the type referred to in paragraph (1)(f) he shall be given no less than five working days notice of it.

(3) Any decision to discontinue support in the circumstances referred to in paragraph (1) above shall be taken individually, objectively and impartially and reasons shall be given. Decisions will be based on the particular situation of the person concerned and particular regard shall be had to whether he is a vulnerable person as described by Article 17 of Council Directive 2003/9/EC of 27th January 2003 laying down minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers(3).

(4) No person’s asylum support shall be discontinued before a decision is made under paragraph (1).

(5) Where asylum support for a supported person or his dependant is suspended or discontinued under paragraph (1)(d) or (i) and the supported person or his dependant are traced or voluntarily report to the police, the Secretary of State or an immigration officer, a duly motivated decision based on the reasons for the disappearance shall be taken as to the reinstatement of some or all of the supported person’s or his dependant’s or both of their asylum support.

(6) For the purposes of this regulation—

(a) the authorised address is—

(i) the accommodation provided for the supported person and his dependants (if any) by way of asylum support; or

(ii) if no accommodation is so provided, the address notified by the supported person to the Secretary of State in his application for asylum support or, where a change of address has been notified to the Secretary of State under regulation 15 or under the Immigration Rules(4) or both, the address for the time being so notified;

(b) “collective accommodation” means accommodation which a supported person or any dependant of his for whom support is being provided shares with any other supported person and includes accommodation in which only facilities are shared;

(c) “relevant condition” has the same meaning as in regulation 19(2);

(d) “reporting requirement” is a condition or restriction which requires a person to report to the police, an immigration officer or the Secretary of State and is imposed under—

(i) paragraph 21 of Schedule 2 to the Immigration Act 1971 (temporary admission or release from detention)(5);

(ii) paragraph 22 of that Schedule(6); or

(iii) paragraph 2 or 5 of Schedule 3 to that Act (pending deportation)(7).

(e) “working day” has the same meaning as in regulation 3(7) save that the reference to the applicant shall be a reference to the supported person or his dependant.”.

7.  After regulation 20 there shall be inserted—

“Temporary Support

20A.   Regulations 19 and 20 shall apply to a person or his dependant who is provided with temporary support under section 98 of the Act in the same way as they apply to a person and his dependant who is in receipt of asylum support and any reference to asylum support in regulations 19 and 20 shall include a reference to temporary support under section 98.”.

8.  In regulation 21(1) for “Where—” there shall be substituted “Subject to regulation 20(5) where—”.

Des Browne

Minister of State

Home Office

10th January 2005