Asylum seekers being kept waiting over two hours on 24-hour Migrant Help hotline

12 August 2023 , 19:56

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Migrants arrive at Dover brought in by Border Force (Image: Invicta Kent Media/REX/Shutterstock)

Vulnerable asylum seekers are being kept waiting over two hours on a Government-funded emergency helpline.

The 24-hour Migrant Help hotline was handed £17million last year to support refugees in crisis with housing, healthcare and money issues. But our probe found people face lengthy delays to speak to an advisor and calls often get cut off.

After charities reported dreadful delays, our reporter tested the hotline. We were left waiting for over two hours on Monday evening, from 8pm to 10.10pm. An automated message noted “exceptionally high” call numbers and directed us to the website.

Refugees calling an emergency hotline face delays of two hours (Stock photo) (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

After trying at 11am on Wednesday, we waited an hour and 10 minutes. A further attempt at 4pm took one hour, 35 minutes. Ali-Martin Fatmata, a blind asylum seeker from Sierra Leone, said it was another example of Government discrimination.

The 40-year-old, who lives in East London, added: “People are being left in danger. I was once left waiting for so long I went to sleep and woke up to the phone still ringing.” The Tories were first warned about lengthy waits on the taxpayer-funded service in January 2020. An internal probe found “unacceptable” delays, with just 13% of calls answered in the accepted time frame.

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A Home Office spokesman said: “The welfare of asylum seekers is... of the utmost importance to us. Despite the number of people arriving in the UK reaching record levels, we continue to provide support for asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute.” Some 75,492 sought UK asylum this March – 33% more than in the same period last month.

Migrant Help added: “Since the start of our contract with the Home Office, demand has been significantly higher than was originally forecast. This, and the complex environment we operate in, has been reflected in the waiting times on our helpline.”

Saskia Rowlands