UK Government Announces Sweeping Changes too Asylum Support System
London, UK – The UK government unveiled a series of reforms to its asylum support system, aiming to reduce costs and discourage illegal migration. Home Secretary James Cleverly described the current system as “out of control” and divisive, announcing a shift towards discretionary assistance for asylum seekers.
Under the new proposals, support will no longer be automatic, with the government reserving the right to deny aid to individuals deemed capable of working or possessing sufficient assets. Cleverly characterized the package as “the most sweeping reforms to tackle illegal migration in modern times,” intended to “restore control and fairness to the system.”
Currently, approximately 100,000 people receive asylum support in the UK, with the majority housed by the state. Roughly one-third are accommodated in hotels, a practice the Labor party has pledged to end by 2029. Around 8,500 asylum seekers already have the right to work, having initially entered the country on a visa before claiming asylum. Others, whose claims remain unresolved after a year through no fault of their own, may be permitted to work in specific sectors facing labor shortages.
alongside the changes to support, the Home Office announced the implementation of artificial intelligence to assess the ages of asylum seekers arriving illegally. The department claims this technology will address inaccuracies in current age assessment methods, which have led to both underage individuals being treated as adults and vice versa, potentially endangering children.The facial age-estimation technology has been trained on thousands of images, but is expected to draw criticism from migrant rights groups concerned about potential misclassification and its impact on vulnerable individuals. The Home Office maintains the technology is both more accurate and cost-effective than existing methods.
