Below are some updates from Asylum Matters regarding their campaigning and advocacy work.
1. Advocacy and campaigning initiativesGovernment’s earned settlement proposals – consultation closes 12th FebruaryA reminder that the Government’s consultation on its earned settlement proposals, which if enacted will mean much longer and harder routes to settlement, remains open until 12 February and can be accessed here. TAKE ACTION:A number of organisations have produced useful guides to explain the proposals and help people respond to the consultation. Please see this Guide by Reunite Families and others here, guide by GMIAU here and guide by LAWRS and others here on how to respond;GMIAU have also produced this briefing for Local Authorities, explaining how the proposed changes will impact on their residents and services;Use this tool produced by Praxis to write to your MP and urge them to oppose these attacks on settlement;Use this tool produced by Work Rights Centre to write to your MP and urge them to oppose plans to restrict settlementRefugee-led petition on settlement changesA petition by a group of refugees against the proposed 20 year wait for settlement for refugees has now been signed over 14 000 times. The petition points out the plans ‘don’t just delay paperwork, they delay lives, hopes and dreams’ TAKE ACTION: Sign and share the petition here: Don’t leave refugees in limbo: Scrap the 20-year wait | 38 DegreesUrge your MP to sign EDM 2486 on border violenceFollowing a recent parliamentary reception we need to keep parliamentary momentum and attention on the harms of UK taxpayer-funded border violence and the deaths it is driving by securing more signatures to EDM 2486. TAKE ACTION: Write to your MP with this easy letter-writing tool to urge them to support the motion on border violence.Communities Not CampsThe first group of people seeking asylum have been moved into Crowborough army training ground despite ongoing protests in the town and firm opposition from refugee advocates, who argue this use of ex army facilities is repeating dangerous mistakes. The Home Secretary is quoted as saying “Crowborough is just the start.” There remains no final decision at this time communicated over plans to operationalise Cameron Barracks in Inverness. TAKE ACTION:Write to your MP to tell them that people seeking asylum should be housed in communities, not camps and never in expensive, wasteful ex-military sites. Asylum Poverty The Home Office have opened its review of asylum support rates. The original deadline was for this Friday however, we have been notified that they will accept responses until 19th Feb. We have added suggested recommendations and toplines to the form, which you can find here. You are free to amend, and please ensure the sections highlighted in yellow are removed. Here is the most recent review report, which outlines how they came to the current rate of support. Please download the form, amend and then send to [email protected] by 19th February.
2. Government and Parliamentary updatesWestminster Hall debate on earned settlementA packed Westminster Hall debate brought by Tony Vaughan MP, saw backbencher after backbencher warn of the serious adverse consequences of the Government’s earned settlement proposals for their constituents, who are experiencing severe anxiety, particularly in respect of potential retrospective application of the proposals. There were repeated pleas to the Minister to ‘read the room’. You can read the debate here and watch here. Home Affairs Committee published Government responseThe Government has responded to the recent Home Affairs Select Committee report on asylum accommodation. The Chair of the Committee stated “the Department still has yet to demonstrate it has a credible plan for getting out of asylum hotels and delivering suitable alternative accommodation in a way which takes into account the impact of local areas.”Rwanda seeks £100m from UK Government The Government of Rwanda has filed an international arbitration case arguing the UK Government breached the terms of the scrapped offshoring deal concluded by the previous Government and owes £100m in monies not paid.
3. Reports and researchPolitics Over People: How the UK’s “one in one out” scheme knowingly harms and forcibly removes torture and trafficking survivors to FranceThis report from Medical Justice provides analysis of the experiences of 33 clients detained in immigration removal centres under the ‘one in one out’ deal since August 2025. It documents the harm and distress experienced as well as multiple dysfunction in clinical safeguards. Coverage here.‘Widespread failures’ at Brook HouseThe Independent has reported on ‘widespread failures’ at Brook House Immigration Removal Centre, with data showing 76 incidents of force used against a detainee in March last year, 60 in April, and 43 in May.Health Harms in UK Asylum AccommodationThis new report by Migrants Organise and Medact finds that the UK asylum accommodation system is actively damaging people’s physical and mental health, prioritising control and containment over care and dignity. It documents how poor housing conditions, isolation, and lack of access to healthcare are contributing to avoidable harm for asylum seekers.
4. Resources, events, jobs and trainingMessaging Guide: Countering Anti Migrant Messages in the UKImix and Global Strategic Communications Council have produced this guide (summarised in this one-pager) on how to communicate effectively to counter negative messaging. ‘The Facts About Sanctuary’ City of Sanctuary have produced this resource to help with informed, compassionate conversations about asylum. Common Ground, Building Cohesive CommunitiesThis guidance, authored by Belong and endorsed by the Local Government Association, aims to help local authorities address social cohesion challenges and share good practice.Submissions invited: The Other Side of HopeSubmissions of poetry by refugees, people seeking asylum or people who have migrated in any language other than English are invited for the ‘mother tongue, other tongue’ issue of The Other Side of Hope, by 30 April. Details here. UNHCR overview of practices in relation to country of origin information This report gives a comparative overview of practice internationally in the field of country of origin information. Asylos COI report: El Fasher, SudanPart of Asylos’ spotlight series aiming to fill gaps in Country of Origin Information, this report looks at the situation in El Fasher following its capture by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in October 2025.Knowledge is Power: Detention and EnforcementRight to Remain’s session on 11 Feb will focus on how to respond to the rise in immigration raids, detention and enforcement in the UK. Sign up here.Jobs and opportunities:The 3million are recruiting a Community Organiser, deadline 21 February. Our Second Home are recruiting for a Communications and Content Producer, Fundraising Manager, Bristol Community Coordinator and Chair of Trustees. Details of all roles hereThe Sheila McKechnie Foundation are looking for a Chief Executive, deadline 15 February.ASAP are looking for a Training Coordinator / Legal Advisor. Deadline 22 February.Project 17 are recruiting a Care Act Supervisor. Deadline 2nd March.
5. What we’re reading, watching and listening toThis piece from ITV profiling the bravery and resilience of young refugees in the UK.This article and this podcast on the current initiative in Spain to regularise the status of half a million undocumented people there.This article in the British Journal of Politics and International Relations and commentary describing ‘a concerted political effort to deny Albanians sanctuary’ in the UK from 2022.