Written question asked by Simon Hughes (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 26 April 2001, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 1 May 2001. It was answered by Barbara Roche (Labour) on Tuesday, 1 May 2001 on behalf of the Home Office.

Home Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his Answer of 12th February, Official Report, 363 c57W, what evidence he has to support the conclusion that people seeking asylum are managing to combine their vouchers and cash to ensure they do not lose out; and what representations he has received to the contrary.

Answer: Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 12 February 2001, Official Report, column 57W, what evidence he has to support the conclusion that people seeking asylum are managing to combine their vouchers and cash to ensure they do not lose out; and what representations he has received to the contrary. [159813] Mrs. Roche: We have received a number of representations from non-governmental organisations, hon. Members, members of the public, retailers and others about the impact of the "no change" rule. The issue is something we are looking at as part of the review of the operation of the asylum voucher scheme. As part of that review we have investigated asylum seekers' experiences and I have visited retailers and spoken to staff about the operation of the no change rule. We will make our conclusions available when the review reports.

Secondary information