A GOVERNMENT subcontractor which insisted that asylum seekers wore wristbands as a condition for receiving food announced on Monday that it would drop the practice, following public outrage over the weekend.
The controversial scheme was used at Lynx House in Cardiff to identify 200 asylum seekers staying there, so that they could claim three meals a day. Asylum seekers cannot claim UK benefits, and receive around £36 per week.
However, some claimed that the bands led to them being victimised by racists.
Clearsprings Ready Homes – the private firm contracted by the Home Office to provide accommodation in the Welsh capital – confirmed on Monday that they had abandoned the scheme. On Monday (Jan 25), a spokesman for the firm said: “Asylum seekers who spend their initial few weeks at our full board accommodation in Cardiff have been provided with wristbands since May 2015 to ensure they receive the services they are entitled to and to make sure those more vulnerable asylum seekers have access to their specific requirements.
“As in numerous such establishments where large numbers of people are being provided with services, wristbands are considered to be one of the most reliable and effective ways of guaranteeing delivery.
“We are always reviewing the way we supply our services and have decided to cease the use of wristbands as of the Monday, January 25, and will look for an alternative way of managing the fair provision of support.
“Clearsprings Ready Homes have been providing accommodation services to asylum seekers on behalf of the Home office for over 15 years and are always grateful for feedback to help improve the safety and effectiveness of their services.”
Plaid Cymru Leader Leanne Wood welcomed the move, but said that questions needed to be asked about why the scheme was implemented in the first place:
“Plaid Cymru welcomes the fact that this alarming practice of forcing asylum seekers to wear coloured wristbands will be stopped immediately,” she said.
“It is understandable that the Home Office requires asylum seekers to carry some form of identification for practical reasons such as when they collect meals.
“However, such a visible indicator is unnecessary and has left a community already under suspicion open to further harassment and distress.
“This episode raises serious questions over the Home Office’s judgement when it comes to such sensitive issues.
“I will be writing to the Home Secretary to seek assurance that this practice will not be repeated anywhere else in the UK.”
Liberal Democrat AM Eluned Parrott also called for clarity on why the practice was happening in the first place: “I was appalled to learn that people were forced to wear wristbands in order to be able to access food. If the reports are true that this practice is to stop, then this is welcome news,” she said.
“However, we need to be told whose decision it was to dish these wristbands out.
“Lynx House have apparently claimed it was a Home Office directive. If that is the case then the Home Office must reverse this decision. It would also indicate this is happening across the UK, so it is more than just an isolated incident.
“Of course it is sensible for asylum seekers to carry some form of identification. However, many of these desperate people have risked their lives to flee the most appalling conditions and it is completely inappropriate to make their lives even more difficult by singling them out in this way.”
Amelia Womack, Wales Green Party prospective lead candidate South Wales Central list and Cardiff Central, and Deputy Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales said:
“I’m shocked to hear this is happening in Cardiff, so close to where I live. It’s hard to find words to describe how deeply thoughtless this policy is, and how little respect and compassion it shows for people fleeing persecution overseas.
“Wales has a proud tradition of offering food and shelter to those in need. Refugees are people, no less than you or I. I am disgusted that public money is being handed to private companies who don’t recognise that making refugees wear a red wristband they can’t remove will make them an obvious target for cowardly racist bullying and abuse.”
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