Refugees & asylum seekers

Home truths: Adult refugees and asylum seekers

Sarah Sandford & Tris Lumley

June 2006, 64 pages

If you ask the British public, they believe that 23% of the world’s refugees are in Britain. In fact, the true figure is less than 3%. Indeed the number of people seeking asylum in this country in the second quarter of 2007 was 13% lower than the first quarter and 10% lower than the previous year.

Home truths examines the barriers asylum seekers and refugees face, both in the system and in society. These include public prejudice and unemployment, which can lead to poor mental health and crime.

Did you know?

• One in five initial asylum decisions is later overturned in the courts.
• Michael Marks, the co-founder of Marks and Spencer, was a Russian-born Polish refugee who came to England in 1884.

NPC's research found that donors should support charities using the following approaches:

• bringing people together to beat prejudices and integrate refugees and asylum seekers into their community
• providing translators for NHS mental health services
• helping refugees to find satisfying work, thus cutting the costs to society of unemployment.

• Read A long way to go, NPC's 2007 report into young refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.