The charity investigated the plight of 13 asylum seeker and refugee families in the West Midlands and uncovered shocking evidence of children living in squalor and without heating, electricity or access to food. In one case a family of six were living in a single room.
Some families said they couldn't use local authority children's services because they could not prove they were eligible for help, even when they had a right to support.
Published yesterday (12 February), the Living on the Edge of Despair report said these children were failing to benefit from the Every Child Matters agenda and said urgent action must be taken to help their families. It said the laws dictating what asylum-seeking children are entitled to needs to be clearer and more done to give these families access to legal representation.
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