The Effects of UK Immigration, Asylum and Refugee Policy on Poverty: A Joint Inquiry by the APPG on Migration and the APPG on Poverty

Today marks the launch of the joint report by the APPG on Migration and APPG on Poverty on the effects  of UK immigration, asylum and refugee policy on poverty. 

This report is an attempt to bring together policy and political conversations about migration and poverty, and to explore the implications of migration policy for poverty in the UK. The report focuses on the significant effect on risks and rates of poverty from migration experiences and immigration policies.

The Inquiry received around 200 submissions of evidence, from experts with lived and professional experience of poverty and the UK immigration system. Parliamentarians heard powerful evidence about the impacts that this has on individuals, families and communities. 

The joint inquiry found that rates of poverty are generally higher for migrants than for the UK-born population and that migrants are more likely to face deep poverty and deprivation. It was hard to avoid the conclusion that policy is sometimes designed to push people into poverty in the hope that it will deter others from moving to the UK, even though there is little evidence that this would indeed be a deterrent. It was clear that poverty and destitution are sometimes caused by a lack of coordination and shared purpose between different parts of government. Due to a number of changes to immigration policy in recent years the number of people affected by these issues has increased significantly and the costs to local authorities, service providers and the voluntary sector have also increased.

The report offers a range of practical recommendations on steps that can be taken to reduce the direct impacts that immigration policy has on poverty in the UK. It highlights key priorities for policy changes in the following 5 areas: employment and wages; access to social security and welfare; access to public services;  housing; and direct immigration costs. The report also contains key insights from the lived experience and written evidence which provide a useful snapshot of the challenges that migrant groups with different statuses face. 

We would like to thank all of the organisations and individuals who contributed to the inquiry and the writing of this report. From responding to the call for written and oral evidence, to commenting on drafts, we are grateful for the time and expertise shared. 

To read the report in full click here.