Just for the sake of accuracy I thought this point should be corrected lest this otherwise excellent article be accused of spreading myths (!).

Asylum seekers who have an open asylum claim – i.e. have not received a decision on their case or are still going through the courts to challenge a negative decision – are entitled to accommodation and financial support. In Glasgow, the contract to house asylum has been given to the YMCA (re-branded Y people after some nasty business of one whole family of their tenants throwing themselves out of the window of their high-rise flat). Let it be noted that the housing provided is usually of far inferior quality to what is normally available to people on housing benefit. The financial support given by the Home Office is a bare survival amount of 35 pounds per week.
Once someone’s case has been refused (and they have been through all the stages of appeal and still been refused) all support gets stopped. If they can prove that they are destitute and that they have valid reasons for which they cannot return to their country of origin immediately – if they have put in fresh representations, a “fresh case”, or cannot travel for medical reasons, or come from a country for which they cannot obtain travel documents (eg. Palestine, Somalia) – they can apply for section 4 support. Under section 4, they should be provided with the same sort of accommodation as those on their first case but their financial support is given via a payment card: the “azure” card. This card can only be used in certain shops (large supermarkets like tescos, asda, fast food joints like mc donalds etc) which prevents users from saving money by shopping for vegetables at local shops for instance. At the end of each week the balance is wiped clear of the card, preventing users from saving up for expensive items. It is also not possible to use the azure card to buy certain items such as painkillers, bus tickets, and other essential items.

So let us be clear. Although it is untrue to say that “they cannot get homelessness assistance or welfare benefits of any kind” the support system that is in place is completely independent of the welfare system offered to British citizens and other “legals” and is designed specifically to ostracize and stigmatize asylum seekers as well as make their daily life as complicated as possible.

I have just one quibble, A third of that so-called £23 billion goes to “private” landlords (many of whom are renting out ex-council housing) and the other two-thirds is simply rents not collected from low income social tenants (unemployed or old or disabled or whatever).

The £8 billion paid to “private” landlords is a real cost to the taxpayer. I get upset about that £8 billon.

The other £15 billion is rent not collected from social tenants and is no more a cost than the fact that UK land owners and home owners are not paying very much towards the £200 billion a year in land rental values which they enjoy largely tax-free.

If it were up to me, I’d try and claw back that £200 billion before I worry about the £15 billion.

http://gco2e.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/the-melt-fund-triple-dipping.html