7.1 Case study: Katy Eagle – a voluntary sector practitioner
The next activity provides an opportunity to listen to Katy Eagle, a voluntary sector social worker from Embrace Life, Luton in England, talking about her experience of working with migrants, asylum seekers and refugees and how social workers can help this vulnerable group of people.
In the first part of the activity, Katy discusses her top tips for social workers. In the second part, you can listen to Katy explain how she would practise, as you work through two case studies with her.
Activity 4 Katy Eagle – Social work practice with migrants, asylum seekers and refugees
Timing: 1 hour
Part 1
Firstly listen to Katy speak about the work that she does at ‘Embrace Life,’ Luton with migrants, asylum seekers and refugees. She discusses her social work practice within a voluntary organisation to support asylum seekers and refugees, and the legal framework that she practises within. She also outlines her top tips for social workers. As you listen to the audio, answer the questions that follow.
Please note, this audio is approximately 17 minutes long.
Download this audio clip.Audio player: Audio 3
Transcript: Audio 3 Katy Eagle
JEANETTE COPPERMAN
Hi, I’m Jeanette Copperman, one of the authors on K271 and the author of this Learning Guide. I’m here in Luton talking to Katy Eagle, who’s a social worker with Embrace Life. Katy, could you tell us a little bit about your role as a social worker in Luton?
KATY EAGLE
So I’m a social worker with Embrace Life which is a voluntary service in Luton. We support people who are living with HIV and also people who identify as LGBT. We work with people in a voluntary role so very different to statutory services. We work with people holistically, looking at their needs, so that could be anything from housing, immigration, their physical and mental health and a lot of work we do is with people who don’t meet the threshold for statutory intervention and a lot of preventative work as well, with people who hopefully resolve some of the struggles they’re having before things escalate.
JEANETTE COPPERMAN
Can you give us some examples of the people you work with , the kind of issues that they face?
KATY EAGLE
So we work with a huge variety of people. We work with families and children, we work with single adults, we work with older people and we work with people who have long term health problems, people who face a huge amount of stigma from the community around the conditions that they have. People who are very very socially isolated because of the conditions they have or they physically can’t get out much. And we are a safe space, we run a drop in for them to come and spend time with people that they know are going to be friendly and supportive. We work with people who identify as LGBT and so a huge amount of UK nationals, some young people who maybe their family aren’t so accepting, but also people who are arriving in the UK seeking asylum on those grounds and people who, therefore, will be living pretty much in poverty, people who have no connection with their family anymore, people who are very isolated.
JEANETTE COPPERMAN
How did you get involved in this area of law, it can be quite a daunting area of law for social workers to be involved with?
KATY EAGLE
It can be a daunting area of law, it changes very quickly, there’s been a lot in the rules recently about policy changes. But I came to this area of work before I trained as a social worker, I was a volunteer for a voluntary organisation - The British Red Cross - working with refugees and asylum seekers and vulnerable migrants and from then I went on to train as a social worker and now I’m here with another voluntary organisation. Yeah.
JEANETTE COPPERMAN
How do you enjoy your job?
KATY EAGLE
I really enjoy my job. We work with a huge amount of people whose support elsewhere is quite limited so I think what we do here is really valuable in being a safe space for people to come and talk, for being a friendly face to come and talk to in the same way that maybe they wouldn’t talk to a social worker form statutory services that they perceive as having more power, more authority and making very different decisions in relation to them. We see some really difficult cases, we see people who are really, really struggling and people who are in some awful situations. But we also see some really lovely situations and people helping their neighbours, charities that do some brilliant work, and people whose lives change very much for the better when they get asylum, when they get immigration status granted and suddenly they come back and tell us that they found a job, they’ve moved away and tell us they don’t need us anymore, but in a really nice way, kind of “thanks, I’ve moved on now”….which is nice as well!
JEANETTE COPPERMAN
Within your role as a social worker here, you meet a lot of people who are at a point of crisis, what immediate support needs do you think they have?
KATY EAGLE
So we see a lot of people who do come to us a the point of crisis, they come to us when their support networks have broken down, and they’re no longer managing on their own. We very often work with people to look at their most basic needs first. People need somewhere safe to stay, people need food, people need to stay warm and dry, people need clothes. We also hand out things that people don’t like to ask for, we hand out sanitary towels to people and we offer them because otherwise people will not ask. We work with food banks and charities in the area to make sure that people have got really basic needs.
JEANETTE COPPERMAN
And what support is available to asylum seekers and refugees who come to the UK?
KATY EAGLE
Support for asylum seekers and refugees and vulnerable migrants can be quite limited. They very often have a condition called “no recourse to public funds” attached to their status and that means that they’re not able to apply for any benefits or to apply for any social housing, so, most of the time, it means that people are reliant on charities, friends and family support networks, voluntary organisations, churches and mosques that will help them. Asylum seekers that have got a claim with the Home Office that they are considering and are eligible, are often able to apply for very limited accommodation through the Home Office and a very small amount of money but the criteria for it are very very tight.
JEANETTE COPPERMAN
This is quite a complex area of law, how does the law impact on the work you do? And what legislation would you say is key?
KATY EAGLE
So there’s a number of bits of legislation that are relevant to what we do and we have be mindful of particularly the Immigration and Asylum Act that defines who is an asylum seeker and who is approaching getting legal status to be in the UK. We also have to consider the Children Act and the Care Act which defines the support available for children and families and to adults. And we also consider things like the Mental Health Act which defines who is eligible for mental health after care and support and also more specialist bits of legislation like the Modern Slavery Act that looks at who has been exploited in the UK or who has arrived in circumstances that amount to trafficking or slavery.
JEANETTE COPPERMAN
What issues do you think social workers need to be particularly aware of when it comes to the law on asylum and immigration?
KATY EAGLE
So I would say that social workers need to have a broad understanding of immigration and asylum law and some of the issues around that, and also an understanding of what “no recourse to public funds” means and what it does mean that somebody can’t have access to and actually what it doesn’t affect, what somebody can have support. We also find that most people we work with that are going through the asylum and immigration process are very fearful, they’re very afraid of how they are perceived in the UK and the consequences for them of watching over their shoulder, feeling that they’re being monitored by the Home Office all the time and being understanding of that is really really important for us.
JEANETTE COPPERMAN
You mentioned people being fearful and sometimes having perhaps to wait a long time for decisions on their status, what do you think is important in terms of social work support during that period?
KATY EAGLE
So people can wait a very long time for decisions and even if they’re waiting what the Home Office might consider a short time, for somebody waiting for what can be the biggest decision of their life, it can feel like forever. We offer a lot of emotional support to people in that time, a lot of what we do is talking to people and helping them find ways to manage their fears and their anxieties. Sometimes we do refer people to talking therapies because the fear does become such a big factor in their life.
JEANETTE COPPERMAN
Is the law different when it comes to adults and to caring for children?
KATY EAGLE
So the Children’s Act, in particular, says that the needs of the child have got to be paramount and so in cases where a family are seeking immigration status or are seeking asylum and they have children that could otherwise face sleeping on the streets or becoming destitute, the family can be provided for through section 17 of the Children Act as a child in need. But unfortunately there isn’t an equivalent piece of legislation for adults unless they’re human rights were being breached in some way. But it’s more difficult to get that for adults than for children.
JEANETTE COPPERMAN
What kind of advice can a social worker give when it comes to immigration and what do you think a social worker cannot give as well?
KATY EAGLE
Immigration advice in the UK is actually quite tightly regulated by an organisation called the Offices of the Immigration Services Commissioner which is usually just callee OISC registration. And so to give anyone, social workers or solicitors or anyone, to give immigration advice has to be registered with that body. So we can’t give people advice on if we think they should apply for asylum, what we think they should include in their claim, but what social workers can give advice on is: knowing the communities, so where can people go for help around housing, food parcels, medical support, where can people go to meet their own needs rather than advice around the specifics of their actual immigration case.
JEANETTE COPPERMAN
And what kind of services for immigration advice and for other services do you refer people to?
KATY EAGLE
We work quite closely with some solicitors in Luton who are able to offer kind of short appointments for advice and they will usually do that free of charge. We also work with a huge variety of other voluntary services in Luton, that work specifically with refugees and asylum seekers and also that support people with other issues that we refer to. We work quite closely with food-bank in Luton, with mental health support charities and with organisations such as the British Red Cross that provide support directly to refugees and asylum seekers.
JEANETTE COPPERMAN
Do you believe there’s a hostile environment for immigrants to this country?
KATY EAGLE
I hear a lot from the immigrants that I work with that they do feel that the environment in the UK, particularly for people going through the asylum and immigration process, can be hostile. They face NHS charges, they face not being able to have a driving licence which, driving aside, can create problems around ID and showing who you are. Earlier in the year there was notice that banks would have to start checking immigration status. You can no longer rent a property or a room in the UK if you don’t have the legal right to do so and landlords are now checking. And people tell us that that all adds up to feeling like quite a hostile environment. I also hear a lot from the people I work with about the impact of the media and some of the headlines they see that they feel are then labelled about people coming to the UK for benefits, for housing, to take people’s jobs, which has a huge impact on the way that they feel they are perceived by communities in the UK.
JEANETTE COPPERMAN
In your role have you come across modern day slavery and trafficking and what can you, as a social worker, do?
KATY EAGLE
So in my role here we have come across modern slavery. A lot of people that we work with, the nature of their immigration status and the insecurity of that means that they are quite vulnerable to being exploited, either after they’ve arrived in the UK or they’ve actually been exploited on their way and they’ve been trafficked into the UK to begin with. As a voluntary agency our biggest role is to be aware of the signs, to look out for what’s going on and to get to know people so that they can trust us enough to tell us what is going on. We often seek advice through a national helpline for modern slavery and we’ve also reported to the police where we’ve had concerns. So, for example, I know within the voluntary services that we work alongside in Luton, people have come across situations of domestic servitude where people have been treating somebody within their home in conditions that would amount to modern slavery. We also hear of people who’ve been sexually exploited and either bought to the UK seemingly for that purpose or have become vulnerable and exploited in that way once they’ve arrived here. We also hear from other organisations that we work alongside in Luton that lots of people arrive at Luton airport on the pretence that they’ve been promised jobs, that they’ve been promised accommodation, that they’ve been promised support when they get here and that doesn’t materialise. People end up in some really desperate situations in Luton because things don’t work out in the UK as either they thought they were promised or they thought things would be.
JEANETTE COPPERMAN
Can you give us some examples of the kind of cases that you come across?
KATY EAGLE
So we work with a lot of people who’ve maybe been waiting for their asylum claim to be decided for quite some time and that’s having an impact on their mental health, how well they’re managing to cope. We see people as well who’ve maybe overstayed a visa maybe because their own circumstances have changed while they’ve been in the UK, or circumstances have changed back in their home country while they’ve been in the UK. We see people who maybe their physical health has deteriorated and so where they were able to look after themselves, that’s now changed. We see people who find themselves pregnant and might have been able to look after themselves but with a baby on the way and then the task of looking after a baby are no longer able to manage.
JEANETTE COPPERMAN
As a social worker, what would you say are the dos and don’ts in this area?
KATY EAGLE
In terms of dos: Be compassionate, be considerate of the needs that people have, the difficulties that they will have been through. They’ll be separated from their family who may be in their home country, who they might be very concerned about. They may well have seen civil war on their way. Be compassionate and remember what people could have been through. Also, know your own area, your own community really well. Who is out there? What legal services are there? What solicitors in the area offer advice? What charities are there? What do your local churches offer? Who is willing to help in your area? And also be prepared to advocate for people’s rights, that if people are being told “you have no recourse to public funds, you can’t have this”, is that true or is that an assumption on the part of the service provider?
In terms of don’ts: Don’t give legal advice that you’re not qualified or able to do so! It’s very easy to do with the best of intentions to say to somebody “oh why don’t you try this”, but actually if you’re not registered to do so, don’t fall into that trap. Don’t make judgements about why somebody has found themselves destitute in a country far from home. And don’t label people. We see referrals all the time where somebody has written ‘somebody’s an illegal immigrant’ and that’s not a legal term, it’s not particularly helpful and labelling somebody as illegal is really hurtful for that person.
JEANETTE COPPERMAN
What would be your 5 top tips for social workers and social work students working with asylum seekers, migrants and refugees?
KATY EAGLE
So, in no particular order, the top 5 tips:
Know what’s in your area, know who’s around, know what charities there are and work with voluntary organisations that are able to help people in often some quite creative ways
Number 2: have a broad understanding of asylum and immigration issues and kind of the issues in the news from around the world that will bring people to the UK. We’ve seen people who’ve arrived from Syria, from previous conflicts in Afghanistan and having a basic understanding of the background of some of those issues can be really important.
Know where people can get legal advice is really important. Immigration law and policy changes really quickly, so knowing where people can go for up to date, reputable advice is really really important.
Number 4: consider the impact of trauma and loss and separation on people. Lots of people will move to the UK for jobs, lots of people move round the world and get on really well, but lots of people, particularly seeking asylum or looking to be refugees will have seen horrendous situations in their home country, will have lost their family. Maybe if they’re seeking asylum on the grounds of their sexuality, their family will have quite deliberately cut contact or will have been the risk factor that’s made them flee.
And finally know the terminology. Know what words are used, know the right kind of terms to use in relation to refugees and asylum seekers to avoid labelling people and also so that information is accurately passed onto other agencies.
Audio 3 Katy Eagle
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1. What are some of the common problems that refugees and asylum seekers coming to her agency face?
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2. What kind of help can social workers give and what should social workers be alert to?
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3. What are the limitations that social workers have to negotiate?
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Discussion
Above all, Katy talks about remembering core social work values and acting with humanity and compassion. As well as offering practical help and support for people’s immediate needs, she talks about the importance of supporting people emotionally.
You can hear Katy outline more of her practice observations in the next part of this activity.
Part 2
Now listen to the audios of Katy describing two case studies, one of a family and one of a gay man, who are seeking asylum. You can read the transcripts of the case studies if required.
Think about the questions that Katy poses as you go through each of the case studies and the kind of help and support you could offer. Make notes in the boxes below each part of the case study before listening to Katy reflecting on her practice in relation to the questions asked. Once you have worked through the case studies, look at the comments from Katy about good practice in the discussion.
Case studies
Case Study 1: Florence, Ronald, Peter and Grace
Download this audio clip.Audio player: Audio 4
Transcript: Audio 4 Katy outlines the story of Ronald and Florence and their two children
Katy Eagle
Florence and Ronald came to the UK about 12 years ago. They both arrived here on student visas, however, circumstances in their home country and in their own lives have changed, and Ronald was diagnosed with a long term health condition. Florence and Ronald sought asylum in the UK and UK authorities initially rejected this claim, and Florence and Ronald have challenged it.
Florence and Ronald now have two children, aged 9 and 3, who are doing well at school and in after school groups and clubs, and they’re healthy. Peter, aged 9, and his sister Grace, aged 3, have never been outside of the UK. Grace enjoys going to the local children’s centre with her parents, and they find this a really valuable source of support.
Florence is experiencing some symptoms of anxiety and depression, and she feels this is linked to the uncertainty of the family’s immigration status. Since their asylum claim was rejected, they have appealed, and have now requested a judicial review of the decision making process. They’re now applying for leave to remain outside of regular immigration rules.
The family have no recourse to public funds, and so providing for the children and Florence and Ronald’s basic needs can be really difficult.
Audio 4 Katy outlines the story of Ronald and Florence and their two children
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Questions to consider:
- How might social workers be involved with the family? What might their role be?
- How can the family be supported to ensure that their basic needs are met?
- How would you support the family? What would your priorities be? How can social workers support a family in this situation?
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Discussion
Now listen to Katy reflecting on her practice in relation to these questions.
Download this audio clip.Audio player: Audio 5
Transcript: Audio 5 Katy reflecting on her practice
Katy Eagle
So there’s a few ways that social workers might be involved with a family in this situation or a similar situation. The family in this case study, Florence and Ronald, are a family that I’ve worked with in my role as a social worker in a voluntary agency and we’ve supported them in a few different ways. But it’s also possible that, for example, Ronald might have an adult social care social worker involved to do with his health condition. It’s possible for mental health social workers to be involved if, maybe, Florence’s anxiety and depression were of a level that would be needed. It’s also possible that the children would have somebody from children’s services involved. In relation to how I’ve supported the family through a voluntary service, we have supported them in food bank referrals, clothing vouchers and that sort of thing. We’re also a safe space for the family to come and sit and spend some time because they don’t live in accommodation that has space for the children to play in a safe space for example. We’ve also done some direct work with the children to help them understand their situation a bit better and also to understand the children’s experiences.
Jeanette Copperman
You mentioned although the family have no recourse to public funds, there might be some support available because of Florence’s mental health needs. Could you say a little bit more about that?
Katy Eagle
So if Florence was experiencing mental health needs of level that needed some kind of treatment or intervention, she could go to her GP. Having no recourse to public funds wouldn’t affect her entitlement to do that. However, it can make access to secondary medical care a bit more difficult. However, if her mental health was of a level that needed support by a community mental health team, for example, it wouldn’t exclude it but they may be more limited in what they would be able to offer her.
Jeanette Copperman
How would you support the family? What would your priorities be?
Katy Eagle
So as a voluntary organisation we aim to support the family holistically and look at their needs kind of across the board and for the adults and the children and the children whereas other agencies might take a bit more of a specific view of whose needs come first.
We would consider that, have the family sort legal advice, have they got a reputable solicitor that they are happy with and that is doing everything that can be done legally, because ultimately resolving their asylum or their immigration case is going to be how they’re going to move forward with their lives. So we would check that they’ve got legal advice, we’d also make sure that they’ve got food, clothing for the children, are the children being supported by the schools, are they getting free school meals, things like that that they can do. We would also look into community resources that the family are able to access. Libraries are often quite useful, particularly for resources for Grace, who’s 3, children’s books, they have story sessions, rhyme sessions for parents that can be really useful and they’re usually either free or quite cheap. And we’d look at what’s around. We’d also consider their other needs. Florence and Ronald are separated from their family in their home country and the situation in that country means that they’re quite concerned about their safety, their family’s safety in their home country so we might do what we can to see if we can get them computer access to try and contact them to stay in touch, but also to think about the impact on Florence and Ronald of not having their mum and dad about. The children haven’t got grandma and grandad to call upon in the same way as lots of their friends at school have, so we’d be a safe space for them to talk about the impact of that on them.
From a legal perspective we’d also consider whether Section 17 of the Children’s Act is relevant and do Peter and Grace really need the support of the local authority to prevent them becoming destitute or homeless. It can sometimes be difficult because in the past we’ve sometimes seen local authorities willing to accommodate children but take that very literally as accommodating the children and not the family together somewhere, which would mean separating them from their parents. And really if there’s no other safeguarding concerns, we’d consider whether that would be in their best interests. But it can be that the children will be accommodated and the parents can therefore live in the house, the room, with them.
Audio 5 Katy reflecting on her practice
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Download this audio clip.Audio player: Audio 6
Transcript: Audio 6 Ronald and Florence’s story continues
Katy Eagle:
So the family are living in accommodation that is provided by local authority children’s services to prevent the children becoming destitute or homeless but this only covers the most basics. The children describe that they sometimes feel left out of after school activities, going out with their friends, having new clothes and toys that they see their friends with. And Florence and Ronald are frustrated that they can’t work - they worked in their home country and are frustrated they can’t do this now. And even places they’ve approached to volunteer are not sure that they can volunteer on the type of documents that they have and so turn them away as they don’t want to take the risk. They find that they’re also turned away from IT or English courses that they want to do.
Peter is doing really well at school, and is described by his teachers as bright and kind. But he’s aware of the differences he sees between his and other parents, and he is worried about the future. He does not speak the language of the country that is described on documents as his home country, the school system is very different and he is worried he’ll miss his friends.
Audio 6 Ronald and Florence’s story continues
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- How can you support this family? Where would you look for advice, help?
- What impact could this situation be having on each member of the family? How would this impact on relationships within the family?
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Discussion
Now listen to Katy reflecting on her practice in relation to these questions.
Download this audio clip.Audio player: Audio 7
Transcript: Audio 7 Katy reflects on her practice
Katy Eagle
So to support the family as before we continued to make sure that they are able to have a balanced diet, to have enough food, to manage Ronald’s health condition, to make sure that the children are still receiving the support that they need through the school and the children’s centres and a whole host of voluntary organisations and charities within Luton and also to carry on making sure that they’re working with their solicitor and also to work with the solicitor in some ways to make sure that the solicitor’s got the evidence that she needs to put their case together.
In terms of the impact on each member of the family, so, starting with Ronald, his health is deteriorating and so he’s finding things progressively more difficult in the UK and to manage his own physical and mental health. So he’s needing a lot more support from his GP and other more specialist charities. Florence finds this difficult. She’s seeing her husband struggling with his health, the impact of that on her, the impact of seeing her children struggling is taking its toll on her and so we’re looking into places that she can have some support as her role as a carer. We’re also looking at some support for them as a couple because it’s taking a toll on their relationship as well. Peter is doing well at school, but he’s worried about the future. So, for him, we’ve been looking at life story work with him and some skills that social workers can use to help him come to terms with his experiences a bit and also to understand his dad’s health condition which he’s also quite worried about. Grace, who’s 3, she enjoys going to the library, she enjoys going to the children’s centre, but she’s starting to notice that maybe things are a little bit different for her family than others. And the focus for her is making sure that she develops into a healthy, happy child in the same way that another 3 year old would.
Jeanette Copperman
You mentioned helping to put evidence together to support the case with the solicitor. Can you give some examples of the kind of evidence that you’re talking about?
Katy Eagle
So with a family in a situation like Florence and Ronald, we have worked to produce a child and family assessment of the children’s needs and we’ve undertaken that because they’re not subject to local authority care plans or anything like that. So we’ve done the child and family assessment to look at their needs and what’s in their best interests and to understand what their lives are like here. We’re also asked into court to appear as witnesses to explain the child and family assessment in a bit more detail and to look at what is in the family’s best interests.
Audio 7 Katy reflects on her practice
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Download this audio clip.Audio player: Asset 206752
Transcript: Audio 8 Ronald and Florence’s story continues
Katy Eagle
So, Florence and Ronald have been working with a solicitor on their application for leave to remain. The application focuses on the length of time that the family have been in the UK, and Peter and Grace knowing no other life than the life they’ve had here in the UK and also the impact it would have on them if they were to moved to another country.
Peter’s school, charities and also their church have provided evidence in support of this, and have appeared as witnesses at their tribunal hearing.
The family were advised that they would have a 2 week wait for an outcome, however 6 weeks later they are still waiting, and have been advised that because there is a backlog of cases, they are continuing to wait.
Audio 8 Ronald and Florence’s story continues
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- How can social workers use their skills to continue to support the whole family?
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Discussion
Now listen to Katy reflecting on her practice in relation to this question.
Download this audio clip.Audio player: Audio 9
Transcript: Audio 9 Katy reflects on her practice
Katy Eagle
So the period of waiting can be really difficult because they were hoping they'd be at the end of the immigration and asylum process. They were hoping by now they'd have a decision and be able to move on with their lives.
To continue to support the family, we're still looking at what resources are available. Where are they living, how are they managing still, and we're still advocating for the family to have access to the services that they need.
We continue to work with the children directly, and this will increase over the school holidays when they're not in school as they would have been before.
Jeanette Copperman
How do they get enough to eat over the school holidays?
Katy Eagle
It can be really difficult for them, in all honesty. Food bank referrals, the small amount of money they receive through Section 17 will go some way towards it. But we also look at what different charities in Luton do. So we're fortunate there are a few charities around run by religious groups that do an evening meal a couple of times a week. We run a lunch club once a week. So we'll be looking at all sorts of creative ways for the family over the summer.
Audio 9 Katy reflects on her practice
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Case study 2: Abdul
Katy now describes Abdul’s story.
Download this audio clip.Audio player: Audio 10
Transcript: Audio 10 Katy outlines the story of Abdul
Katy Eagle
Abdul has fled his home country and arrived in the UK seeking asylum. He is a gay man in his early twenties, and his family in his home country and the extended family in the UK do not accept his sexuality. Abdul feels that he cannot return to his home country as his life there would be in danger, from his own family and also from groups within society who enforce laws against same sex relationships.
His asylum claim was rejected, as the Home Office dispute that he would be in danger if her were to return to his home country and they also dispute the evidence he provided that he is gay. His application is further complicated because he was found working in the UK without the legal status to do so.
Abdul is now homeless and is showing signs of being physically unwell.
Audio 10 Katy outlines the story of Abdul
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- What would your advice to Abdul be? What are his options for support?
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Discussion
Now listen to Katy reflecting on her practice in relation to this question.
Download this audio clip.Audio player: Audio 11
Transcript: Audio 11 Katy reflects on her practice
Katy Eagle
For Abdul we would be considering how anybody can resolve him being homeless and also, with his physical health, how he can receive the health care that he needs. We’d also look at him seeking some legal advice. Has he got a solicitor that can help him appeal the decision that was made to decline his asylum claim, has he got a solicitor that can give him some advice around the sort of evidence he needs to be providing for his claim. And also, does he qualify for the support that can be provided by the home office in terms of very basic accommodation and support to go with that to stop him being homeless.
For Abdul, a solicitor and people working with him might also consider his human rights. Is he in a situation where his human rights are at risk of being breached should his situation not change? And so, his solicitor and people working with him might look at what sort of assessment of that needs to be done and what sort of evidence he needs to be providing.
Audio 11 Katy reflects on her practice
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Download this audio clip.Audio player: Audio 12
Transcript: Audio 12 Katy continues the story of Abdul
Katy Eagle
Abdul needed to seek medical attention through Accident and Emergency for his health, and needed to be kept in hospital for a few nights for treatment, but he is recovering well now. He is concerned that he’s going to be billed for the treatment though and he’s got no way at the moment of paying such a bill. He’s heard rumours as well that the NHS share data with the Home Office to track failed asylum seekers and people who have overstayed visas. And when he’s stressed, he struggles to understand English and he can’t remember what he was told in hospital.
Abdul has chosen to apply for accommodation through the Home Office and he’s also appealing his decision with a solicitor. He’s been allocated a shared room in a block of housing, but it’s 5 hours away from where he had been living. He needs to stay in contact with his solicitor locally to gather the evidence he needs for his appeal, and also to demonstrate the risk to him should he return to his home country and to demonstrate that he is gay. Abdul is finding this particularly difficult because he’s not told many people about his sexuality and he’s now faced with speaking about the details of this in court in front of strangers.
Audio 12 Katy continues the story of Abdul
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- How could this impact upon Abdul?
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Discussion
Now listen to Katy reflecting on her practice in relation to this question.
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Transcript: Audio 13 Katy reflects on her practice
Katy Eagle
The impact of this on Abdul is huge. He had been beginning to find his feet in the local area and moving away, he’s now separated from all of that, he’s very isolated. He also feels a lot of stigma being labelled as an asylum seeker in a new area. The accommodation he’s living in is not great and it’s known in the local area as where the asylum seekers live and he sometimes gets some comments made around that. He’s also really struggling being so far away from his solicitor and he’s not been able to find a new solicitor in his new area who’s willing to take it on. And all of this is having an impact on his physical health and also on his mental health which is then causing him further difficulties with his physical health. He’s struggling.
Audio 13 Katy reflects on her practice
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Transcript: Audio 14 Katy completes the story of Abdul
Katy Eagle
Abdul has been granted asylum to remain in the UK as a refugee, however, he’s now got to find his own accommodation, he’s got to apply for a National Insurance number, he’s got to apply for his benefits. And he’s still isolated, he’s still separated from his family, he still feels the impact of not being able to ever go back to his home country and everything he knows there. He’s got limited connections in his new town still and he’s still very wary of the local community and also that his religious community will accept him.
Audio 14 Katy completes the story of Abdul
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- How can Abdul be supported?
- What are the risks and critical moments for Abdul?
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Discussion
Now listen to Katy reflecting on her practice in relation to this question.
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Transcript: Audio 15 Katy reflects on her practice
Katy Eagle
Now Abdul is refugee, he’s got the same support available to him as another UK national would do. He can apply for social housing, he can apply for benefits and he no longer has the no recourse to public funds restriction applied to him. The risk to him though is that he’s now got to do all of this, he’s now got to fill out all these forms in his second language, he’s got to know all the numbers to put in, he’s got to go out and find himself somewhere to live because he’s unlikely to be highest priority on a local authority housing list. And he’ll also need to leave the accommodation that he’s in through asylum support quite quickly, so the biggest risk to him is that he could become homeless again at the point that he’s got to leave. It’ll take him a while to get his benefits through, it’ll take a while to get his national insurance number and he’s got no other income in that time. But once that comes through he can apply for benefits and he can start looking for a job as well.
Audio 15 Katy reflects on her practice
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Comment
Katy commented:
We find that many of the people we support come to us at the point of crisis. People who are having problems related to immigration or asylum often become known to support services at that point of crisis – and this could be charities, health services, churches, food banks, or statutory services such as children’s or adult social care, or mental health teams.
Often, our immediate support is to make sure that people’s most basic needs are met – food, shelter, food/nappies for babies, clothing etc. Basic necessities that people have not been able to obtain when their support network has broken down, their circumstances have changed suddenly or they can no longer manage alone.
In terms of social work theory, we find it useful to consider Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which is a model that shows that a person has to have their fundamental basic needs (food, shelter, safety) met before they can reach their potential and go on to achieve their goals and ambitions. Accordingly, key support at this stage for a person seeking asylum who has arrived in the country may include signposting to a solicitor or immigration support service for advice – it is really important to know what specialist services are operating in your area: for example, British Red Cross, Migrant Help, Refugee Council and local projects supporting people – food banks, etc.
If children are destitute or at risk of this, we consider referring to children’s service for support under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 and Section 22 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995. We also find that it’s important to know some of the terminology around asylum and immigration – No Recourse to Public Funds, National Asylum Support Service (now Asylum Support), tribunals, appeals, further submissions and voluntary return but we also focus on not labelling people, for example as ‘illegal’. We find that it is again important for us to know who can provide legal advice – e.g. our local law centre, university law clinic, pro bono advisers.
Immigration advice is regulated in the UK and providing immigration advice without registration is a criminal office. Social workers therefore need to be aware of what information they can provide and when to seek further advice/support for people. The registration is known as ‘OISC’ (Office of the Immigration Service Commissioner) registration and advisers must be accredited through this scheme.
People in the UK who are experiencing difficulties with immigration often tell us that the process can be dehumanising and belittling and having to prove your case (for example your sexuality) can be very very difficult. Our advice for other professionals is always to focus on the person and be compassionate – seemingly simple things like taking the time to offer a hot drink to someone in crisis can make a huge difference. We often see other people that other agencies feel they can’t support due to someone’s immigration status – sometimes this is true, but other times, it is based on misconceptions or misunderstanding – but we often need to challenge the reasoning behind these decisions and advocate for people to have fair access to services. The climate of a ‘hostile environment’ immigration policy can make daily life difficult for people – even a trip to hospital could bring a large bill.
In the case studies, Florence, Ronald and family, and Abdul could also be vulnerable to exploitation and vulnerable to crimes such as modern slavery, as their lack of financial resources and the means to change this could lead them to alternative ways of providing for themselves that leave them vulnerable. We have heard from people who have found themselves in abusive and exploitative situations, but who are too afraid about the consequences to report this to the police or safeguarding teams.
Whilst modern slavery is not just about international borders and immigration issues, many people experiencing modern day slavery have come to the UK from overseas. We’ve found the most valuable support we can provide is a listening ear and being alert to the signs of modern slavery, and then knowing what to do with concerns – support is provided through a National Referral Mechanism (immediate concerns should be reported to the police) and there is a national helpline [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] that can provide advice to people and professionals, currently run by Modern Slavery Helpline.
(Comment prepared by Katy Eagle, Embrace Life, Luton, 2018)
Box 4 Seeking advice on immigration law
Social workers must not provide immigration advice to people with insecure immigration status and asylum seekers. Only accredited immigration advisers registered with the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) are authorised to do so. The Immigration and Asylum Accreditation Scheme (IAS) is also in operation. Incorrect advice can have devastating consequences for the individual concerned.
In Activity 4, Katy Eagle spoke about the importance of encouraging migrants, refugees and asylum seekers to get appropriate independent legal representation and other advice and support, and the importance of social workers being able to signpost their clients to these services appropriately.