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THE Home Office’s “ludicrous” work ban for asylum seekers has cost taxpayers £876 million over 10 years, according to new calculations.
Figures published today by the Lift the Ban coalition suggest that letting asylum-seekers get jobs could have generated the enormous sum through taxes, National Insurance contributions and savings made on asylum support.
Under the current policy, asylum-seekers can only work if they have been waiting 12 months for a decision and their job is listed on a highly restrictive shortage occupation list.
The vast majority are forced to live for months and even years without work on pitiful government payments of less than £6 a day.
The Home Office has repeatedly rejected calls to change the policy, including from its own advisers on the migration advisory committee.
Alongside the calculations, Lift the Ban also released findings from a YouGov poll suggesting 81 per cent of the public are in favour of giving asylum-seekers the right to work after six months.
Refugee Action chief executive Tim Naor Hilton said: “The cost of this ludicrous policy on refugees, communities, businesses and the British taxpayer is staggering.
“As wait times for a decision on asylum claims snowball, lifting the ban would support integration and raise families out of poverty to create more prosperous communities.”
The coalition is calling on MPs to see “common sense” and back an amendment passed by peers to the Nationality and Borders Bill, which would allow asylum-seekers to work after six months in Britain.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Asylum seekers can work if their claim has been outstanding for 12 months or more, through no fault of their own, and are able to do a job on the Shortage Occupation List.
“An asylum seeker’s right to work is a complex issue and Lift the Ban’s cost analysis fails to consider a number of key factors including realistic wage projections.
“The New Plan for Immigration will fix the broken asylum system making it fair to those who need our help and firm on those who seek to abuse our hospitality.”