[Skip to Content]
Partner Blog | Dealing with Changes to Asylum Policy on Homelessness

Partner Blog | Dealing with Changes to Asylum Policy on Homelessness

Partner Blog | Dealing with Changes to Asylum Policy on Homelessness

Wednesday, November 8, 2023


Our Frontline network partner, Praxis, provides expert support to migrants and refugees in the UK. As a leading expert in supporting migrants facing homelessness, Praxis also works with local councils and frontline support workers, providing advice, training, and sharing best practice.

Praxis have been running the Pan-London Migrant Frontline Network since 2016. The Network offers support to frontline staff who work with people experiencing homelessness in London related to immigration status. The Pan-London Migrant Frontline Network facilitates quarterly events, which provide a regular opportunity to bring together frontline workers in London to network, share expertise, and experience, and link to decision makers.

Subscribe here to find out about future events and activities being organised to connect with staff across London on migrant related focuses.

Introducing the Praxis Slack Channel

Praxis launched a Slack channel last year to support staff working on the frontline to seek 2nd tier advice around immigration related cases. The channel can provide responses to more hands on, or complex questions frontline staff might have. It has been set up for frontline professionals to get expert advice to assist them in their work at a time that is convenient for them.

Event: Impact of Changes to Asylum Policy and Practice on Homelessness

Praxis recently hosted an event with speakers from the GLA and Chartered Institute of Housing to discuss the likely impact of Streamlined Asylum Processing on the refugee community. The event highlighted the following issues with the new practice:

  • All correspondence is in English, meaning recipients may not fully understand what needs to be done. In fact, applicants’ contact details may have changed, so they may not even be receiving correspondence.
  • Successful applicants only have 28 days to vacate their accommodation. Clearsprings manages the properties in London & the South where refuges are housed and are meant to advise local authorities of decisions. They are failing to do so, resulting in an increase in people sleeping rough. In addition, where previously the 28-day notice period did not start until the accommodation provider sent a letter of notice of discontinuation of support, recently the Home Office has instituted a practice of the 28-day period starting from the point at which a Home Office decision on the case is made. People often do not receive these decisions promptly and it does not currently explicitly state that support will be discontinued after 28 days.
  • There is a lack of available data for local authorities on where applicants are based, making it harder for them to offer the required support to prevent refugees in their areas becoming homeless. Even for those who are deemed to be in priority need (usually those with children under the age of 18 or significant health issues) there is a lack of suitable accommodation and people are often uprooted and sent to areas outside of London.

As a result of these issues, it is likely that there will be an increase in the number of people in the refugee community experiencing homelessness.

The GLA presented these concerns to the Life off the Streets Executive Board who in turn will write to the Home Office to raise these concerns.

To help you get your head around these changes at speed, Praxis has created this Asylum Support Discontinuation - Resources and Guidance

Find out more about Praxis's vital work giving advice, providing support, and campaiging so that migrants and refugees in th UK can live with safety, dignity and respect.

News and Views

collapse/expand
  • Brain Injury Guidance

    Brain Injury Guidance

    Leigh Andrews of Change Communication offered specialist advice on brain injuries and homelessness through a digital...
  • End Furniture Poverty Survey

    End Furniture Poverty Survey

    End Furniture Poverty have recently spoken with the Frontline Network to discuss their important ongoing survey, seek...
  • Cover the Cost Campaign

    Cover the Cost Campaign

    Jasmine Basran, Senior Policy Officer at Crisis, talks to us about the Cover the Cost Campaign, asking the Government...
  • VRF Impact Report 2018/19

    VRF Impact Report 2018/19

    Over the past year we have given out 3827 grants totaling £1,156,805 through the VRF. Read the latest Impact Report t...
  • Influence from the Frontline

    Influence from the Frontline

    Frontline workers are crucial at giving insight into the viewpoints of the people they work with as well as the chall...
  • The Vagrancy Act

    The Vagrancy Act

    Crisis, along with others including Homeless Link, Cymorth Cymru, Centrepoint, St Mungo’s, Shelter Cymru and the Wall...
  • Influencing local decisions

    Influencing local decisions

    Zoe, Frontline Network Coordinator at Coventry Citizens Advice, talks to us about the Coventry Frontline Network and...
  • The Litigant in Person Network

    The Litigant in Person Network

    Martha de la Roche, Network Development Manager at Litigant in Person Network (LiP Network), tells us about The LiP N...
  • VRF Impact Report

    VRF Impact Report

    Find out what impact VRF had last year and how to get involved in shaping its direction in the coming year.
  • Housing First Scotland

    Housing First Scotland

    Please see here for the first issue of Housing First Connect - a twice-yearly newsletter for Scotland’s new Housing F...
  • Slaying the Dragon

    Slaying the Dragon

    Will Golding, Edinburgh Tutor at Crisis, talks to us about 'Slaying the Dragon'.
  • CPAG - Early Warning System

    CPAG - Early Warning System

    Dan Norris, from CPAG, talks to us about a new Early Warning System to record the impact of benefit changes implement...
  • The Hostile Environment

    The Hostile Environment

    Bethan Lant, a Project lead from Praxis, writes about the creation of a hostile environment for migrants and refugees.
  • Wrexham’s Crisis Cafe

    Wrexham’s Crisis Cafe

    Sinead Kelleher writes about Wrexham's Crisis Cafe, a multi-agency response to Universal Credit.
  • Frontline Worker Survey

    Frontline Worker Survey

    We are asking frontline workers to participate in a survey, aimed at those working with clients who are experiencing...
  • A map through conflict

    A map through conflict

    A Cyrenians Mediator writes about their innovative Amber Mediation and Support Project, a model of mediation and supp...
  • “A place to call home"

    “A place to call home"

    Hannah Gousy was seconded from Crisis to the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) to help design policy recommendations to...
  • A London Nightshelter

    A London Nightshelter

    On 7 November we opened our church-based shelters for the winter with more churches signed on then ever before. Glass...
  • 'Step Up' at The Connection

    'Step Up' at The Connection

    Wyn Newman introduces the volunteer programme 'Step Up' that has been developed at The Connection for service users.