A Penrith-based organisation, PERN (Penrith Eden Refugee Network), has been awarded £150,000 in funding by Westmorland and Furness Council to deliver immigration advice and support to asylum seekers and refugees in Westmorland and Furness.
The funding was approved by council officers earlier this month and will run over two years. Council officers said that funding the service through PERN was the most practical option, given the lack of alternative providers and the level of demand.
Cumberland Council will also be awarding funding for Asylum support service delivery to PERN in the Cumberland area.
The service will focus on helping individuals understand the asylum process, access legal representation, and manage applications or appeals. It also includes support with housing and financial systems, as well as family reunification where appropriate.
The Councils Global Resettlement Team has said that demand for immigration advice has been increasing, while the number of qualified advisers has remained limited, particularly in rural areas. A council report on the award said that there are no other organisations locally providing this type of regulated immigration advice.
Westmorland and Furness is part of the Government’s asylum dispersal programme, with accommodation provided across the area with asylum dispersal managed in Westmorland and Furness by Serco on behalf of the Home Office. To fulfil the requirements of the ‘Place Based Plan’ one town alone in Westmorland and Furness will accommodate around 300 asylum seekers in dispersal accommodation, generally in HMO’s and or family accommodation. Currently there are 287 asylum seekers, this figure fluctuates, as individuals arrive and leave.
The council said many individuals face practical challenges in accessing support, particularly where services are located outside the county. Most immigration solicitors are based in larger cities such as Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle, making access more difficult for those with limited financial resources.
The £150,000 will be distributed over two years, at £75,000 per year, and will be funded through government asylum support funding allocated to the council.
The funding is intended to support access to regulated immigration advice within Westmorland and Furness for those going through the asylum system including access to lawyers to prepare claims and support with bail conditions, support for refused asylum seekers to make appeals with case preparation and advocacy through the process and support with asylum rights to work.
The focus of the Westmorland and Furness funding services delivery by the Penrith based group will be in Barrow building on asylum seeker support services the group had believed locally over the last year in Penrith and Eden area.
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