Suffolk Refugee Support 'at full stretch' aiding asylum seekers

A charity which supports asylum seekers said it is working at "full stretch" to help a rising number of refugees.

Suffolk Refugee Support said "nearer to 400" asylum seekers, some housed in two hotels, needed its services compared with 60 to 70 adults two years ago.

"We are now seeing people with more acute needs who are freshly arrived in the UK with very few possessions," said Martin Simmonds from the charity.

A "pinch point" was created due to a backlog in processing claims, he added.

It comes after the number of asylum seekers in the UK awaiting an initial decision on their case climbed to a new record high.

Latest Home Office figures show the backlog had risen to 172,758 at the end of March, despite government promises to bring it down.

Refugees were typically from Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Sudan and Eretria, said Mr Simmonds, with the Ipswich-based charity providing clothing, help with documentation and access to health services, training and employment.

"People come to our offices in the one set of clothes they have and a pair of flipflops, some of them have had their phone taken from them," he told BBC Suffolk.

"We are seeing quite acute needs, people who have been through fresh trauma and have had difficult journeys and experiences.

"The longer it goes on, the uncertainty, the separation from loved ones, the wellbeing and mental health issues begin to increase."

He said the increase in numbers was only sustainable if charities could meet the needs with their limited resources, and with the support of the "kind and compassionate" public.

"It's not unique to Suffolk, it's going on elsewhere since the war in Ukraine, the increase in asylum applications and the delay in processing them," he added.

Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick has said he expected to clear the national backlog by the end of the year, adding the government had put in place a "series of measures" to get numbers falling.

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