Removing legal aid would throw asylum-seeking families into destitution, warns The Children's Society

The report Coping with Destitution by Oxfam and the Centre for Migration Policy Research, Swansea University, found failed asylum seekers are prepared to face long periods of destitution in the UK rather than returning to their country of origin.

It denounced the fact that hundreds of thousands of people would rather live in poverty — reliant on friends, commercial sex work or low-paid illegal work — rather than return to their country of origin, saying the situation suggested a "failure of government policy".

In response to the report, Ilona Pinter, policy adviser at The Children's Society, said: "The report reflects The Children's Society’s experience of working with children and families who have no access to statutory support and are unable to work. They often slip under the radar and live without access to basic services such as housing and healthcare.

"As ministers consider changes to the asylum system, legal aid and make plans for the child poverty strategy, we urge the government not to remove vital services and legal aid for asylum support and immigration cases. These act as lifelines for the most vulnerable children and families and cutting back will risk putting more children and young people into this terrible situation."