A new study has shown that asylum seekers, who are regularly attacked by Britain’s right-wing media, could contribute £42.4m to the UK economy if they were allowed to work.
The study by the Lift the Ban coalition, a group that campaigns for the right to work of asylum seekers, shows that if half of people seeking asylum earned a national average wage, £42.4m would be recouped by the government through tax and national insurance payments and savings on financial support.
The study also shows that the public is in favor of lifting the ban, with 71 per cent agreeing that people seeking asylum should have the right to work.
People seeking asylum in the UK are only allowed to work if they have been waiting on an asylum claim for 12 months or more and they can fill a role on the “shortage occupation” list, which includes positions such as classical ballet dancers and geophysicists.
In practice, this means people are essentially banned from…