The Illegal Migration Bill has been passed, with devastating ramifications for the asylum system. The UK government passed the bill as a solution to stop people crossing into the country via small boats. Its implications, however, are far broader and will capture most people who seek asylum in the UK.

In the two or so years since I became a grant-maker, this is the first time that the introduction of new government policy has had a direct and deeply challenging impact on a sector I actively support. I am keen, therefore, to understand how the bill will affect refugees and people seeking asylum, and those working in the sector, and how I might be able to help.

‘The Anti-Refugee Bill is full of measures that punish people for seeking safety in the UK. Its contents are so extreme that it essentially ends the UK asylum system, while offering no new alternatives to ensure that refugees are protected.’  Refugee Action

Under the new regulations, anyone who arrives irregularly into the UK will have their asylum deemed “inadmissible”, meaning the Home Office will not even consider someone’s claim. They will either be detained indefinitely, or removed to their own country or a “safe third country”. There is also a much heavier emphasis on detention, with the Secretary of State for the Home Department having the power to detain a person indefinitely, whilst the minimum period for detainment has been raised to 28 days. These changes all apply to children and pregnant women.

One of our grant holders, Springboard Youth Academy, is a charity providing essential support to newly arrived young people in North-West London. I spoke recently with their Director, Tyler Fox, who stressed the catastrophic impact the bill will have, particularly on children and young people. She describes it as ‘a weed of a bill affecting multiple laws intended to safeguard vulnerable young people seeking protection.’

‘The Home Office’s own research…concluded that restrictive migration policies are “unlikely to diminish asylum seekers’ motivations in the longer term” and are likely to increase the number of people with an irregular immigration status.’ – Refugee Council

Given the widely reported unworkability of the bill, it seems likely that many will be left in stateless limbo – unable to access essential statutory support and unable to legally work. Whilst charities, such as The Refugee Council, are lobbying for strategies and systems that they argue will help to ensure safe, legal and humane ways for refugees to enter the UK, there are things that grant-makers – such as myself – can do to support those in the sector who are at the frontline of trying to safeguard the interests and wellbeing of refugees.

What can grant-makers do?

1. Checking-in with your current grant holders over the coming months, understanding their changing needs and how you can help.
2. Speaking-out about the issues, spreading understanding and sharing informed analysis from those expert in the field, and appealing to your network of grant-makers and philanthropists.
3. Provide funding uplifts for current grant holders to enable them to access training that will help them to better support their community as the situation develops. Uplifts will also help organisations offer their staff and volunteers mental health support, as they find themselves supporting more people with irregular status than ever before.
4. Giving to organisations with specialist knowledge in supporting those with irregular status, so they have the capacity to take on new clients, as well as provide training to others working in the sector to best respond to the situation as it develops.
5. Support efforts in the sector to set-up emergency accommodation, especially in the face of inhumane and openly hostile government provisions, such as the Bibby Stockholm Boat.

It is deeply disheartening when new policies claiming to tackle a significant problem actively frustrate rather than affect much needed change. This is new territory for me, but highly unlikely to be unique in my journey as a grant-maker. I hope, in the mire of this catastrophe, to heed and hear what those working in the eye of the storm need, and to learn how – as a funder – I ought to help the communities I support weather the capricious world of policy making.

Kate Symondson is head of philanthropy at The Symondson Foundation