Labour plans to give young asylum-seekers £1.6K a MONTH and legal fees
Labour plans to give young asylum-seekers in Wales £1,600 a MONTH and taxpayers’ cash to fight deportation
- Three Welsh Labour ministers sent the ambitious plans to Whitehall
Labour ministers in Wales have announced plans that could see young asylum seekers in the country receive £1,600 a month and taxpayers’ cash for legal aid to fight deportation.
The plans, which have been formally sent to Tory Justice Minister Lord Bellamy, are still in the development stage and would need Whitehall approval to go ahead.
Three Welsh Labour ministers – Jane Hutt, Julie Morgan and Mick Antoniw- were signatories of the letter which demanded all migrants would get universal basic income without being deprived of legal aid.
The UK government currently spends in the region of £6million a day accommodating migrants across the country in hotels, bases and floating barges.
Under the Welsh plans, the government would provide migrants with both a wage and their lawyers’ fees in an effort to stop them being deported, reports The Sun.
Under the new plans, young-migrants in Wales would be entitled to £1,600 a month plus their legal fees
Wales’ Minister for Social Justice Jane Hutt was among those who put her signature to the letter
The plans also have the scope for all migrants who arrive unaccompanied as children to have access to the universal basic income scheme from as soon as they turn 18.
READ MORE: More than 5,000 migrants could have crossed the English Channel already this year
The Welsh Labour government has already rolled out a pilot scheme which sees all care-leavers receive £1,600 every month for two years.
However there are fears that the devolved government’s plans could be wrecked by the eligibility of legal aid for children in the asylum-seekers system as they do not meet requirements for the means testing element.
A means test works out if a local authority will pay towards your care and looks at how much money you have.
Speaking to the Sun, James Robert’s of the Taxpayers’ Alliance expressed doubt over this position.
He said: ‘Legal aid is rightly means tested.
‘Illegal immigrants should not be allowed to claim this cash.’
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: ‘Last year we spent around £30 million on legal aid for asylum seekers and we will respond to the letter in due course.’
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: ‘We believe that care leavers have a right to be properly supported as they develop into independent young adults.
‘Too many young people leaving care continue to face significant barriers to achieving a successful transition into adulthood than many of their peers.
‘In line with our Nation of Sanctuary approach, we want to ensure that Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children are supported to rebuild their lives and are not prevented from accessing appropriate Welsh Government schemes and benefits to support their integration.’
MailOnline has approached the Labour Party for comment.
Source: Read Full Article