Reception Policies, Practices and Responses – UK Country Report

The current report provides an overview of the UK legal and policy frameworks and policies on reception. Further, it maps related to the implementation of reception policies, as well as the actors involved and relations among them. Since the early 1990s, asylum seekers have been increasingly separated from mainstream systems of welfare provision and excluded from the labour market. The 1993 Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act, the 1996 Asylum and Immigration Act, the 1999 Immigration and Asylum Act and the 2002 Immigration and Asylum Act were crucial milestones in this process. The UK has transposed only the first generation reception directive 2003/9/EC laying down minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers, but not 2013/33/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 laying down standards for the reception of applicants for international protection. The report draws on interviews with asylum seekers, refugees and migrants with no legal status such as refused asylum seekers who all had experience of the UK reception system, and stakeholders from NGOs and local authorities who are involved in the implementation of policies.