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Published 26 Mar 2026

Home Office sets out plans to reduce support for ARE asylum seekers

Consultation on family returns includes changes to Home Office support as well as local authority support in England for families and care leavers without lawful status

The UK government is currently consulting with stakeholders on asylum support and local authority support reforms that have been legislated for in the Immigration Act 2016 (IA 2016) but have not yet been implemented. The changes are set out in the consultation: Family Returns: Reforming Asylum Support and Enforcing Family Returns (pdf).

Changes to Home Office and local authority support set out in the IA 2016 will:

  • Reduce the availability of Home Office support when an asylum-seeker or asylum-seeking family becomes appeal rights exhausted (ARE)
  • In many cases, transfer the responsibility for providing ARE asylum-seeking families with accommodation and financial support from the Home Office to councils (and health and social care trusts in Northern Ireland)
  • Require councils in England to provide support to destitute families and care leavers without lawful status, including those who have become ARE following an unsuccessful asylum claim, under a new legal framework rather than existing child welfare legislation

The asylum support changes will apply to single adults, families, and adult family households.

The legal basis for providing support to destitute families and care leavers without lawful status will not change for councils in Scotland and Wales, or health and social care trusts in Northern Ireland.

Part one of the consultation sets out the government’s plans for implementing the IA 2016 changes, with consultation questions intended to finalise some details that will be included in accompanying regulations and guidance.

Part two of the consultation focuses on the process of removing families from the UK and includes a review of when physical interventions may be used when a family is subject to an enforced return.

The consultation ends on 28 May 2026. We will be responding to part one and will be working with local government partners to address some of the issues that are likely to arise as a result of the changes. 

We will also be publishing further information about the changes and the likely practice implications to assist organisations that are planning to respond or need to understand more about the potential impacts.