case for support

If we don’t help

An appeal for help from Asylum Aidwho else will?

CaseForSupportv3.indd 1 15/05/2012 16:06

Contents 1 A small charity doing a big job 2 M’s Story 3 Why we do what we do 4 A good cause with a bad name 5 A matter of life or death: why good legal representation matters 6 Case study: the story of ‘G’ 7 One charity, two tasks 8 Shielding the vulnerable from persecution 9 Where does the money come from? 10 Why women often need more care 11 Case study: the story of ‘D’ 12 Four ways we’ve contributed to asylum reform 13 Case study: An example of influential advocacy 14 Case study: the story of ‘B’ 15 A double impact 16 What we need and why we need it 18 Our beneficiaries 19 Gift Aid 20 Donation Form


“Asylum Aid provides legal representation to some of the most vulnerable asylum seekers in the UK, including women who have been persecuted because they are women and children forced to flee the most violent conflicts in the world.

Their campaigns and policy work, carried out critically but constructively with the Government, is drawn from this frontline legal experience.

Despite being such a small charity, Asylum Aid’s blend of legal and policy work has resulted in safety for hundreds and hundreds of individuals fleeing persecution, and concrete steps towards making the asylum system fairer and more compassionate for everyone who turns to it in desperation.”

Dr Astrid BonfieldChief ExecutiveThe Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund

A small charity doing a big job

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1 A small charity doing a big job 2 M’s Story 3 Why we do what we do 4 A good cause with a bad name 5 A matter of life or death: why good legal representation matters 6 Case study: the story of ‘G’ 7 One charity, two tasks 8 Shielding the vulnerable from persecution 9 Where does the money come from? 10 Why women often need more care 11 Case study: the story of ‘D’ 12 Four ways we’ve contributed to asylum reform 13 Case study: An example of influential advocacy 14 Case study: the story of ‘B’ 15 A double impact 16 What we need and why we need it 18 Our beneficiaries 19 Gift Aid 20 Donation Form


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M’s story

M came to the UK from Iran, as a dependant on her husband’sstudent visa. But on her arrival, M was rejected by her husband and ‘sold’ to another man for £10,000. The second man subjected her to two years of rape, sexual assault and serious physical abuse. In the meantime, her husband had contacted her parents in Iran, to spread malicious gossip that M had committed adultery. Adultery in Iran is punishable by stoning to death.

When M was finally able to escape and seek help, she was referred to a women’s refuge and then to Asylum Aid. Her GP raised grave concerns about the uncontrollable headaches and palpitations from which M suffered, and warned that she may never fully recover from her ordeal.

After working carefully and sensitively with M, Asylum Aid made detailed legal representations to the Home Office, outlining everything she had been through and the terrible danger she faced if she was ever returned to Iran. M was swiftly granted Humanitarian Protection, and the right to stay in the UK in her own right.

But why not refugee status – which would recognise more fully the threat M faced and provide more stability as she rebuilt her life in the UK? Drawing on recent legal policy work carried out at Asylum Aid, into the protection available to women through the Refugee Convention and conditions in Iran, we were able to argue further that M qualified as a refugee.

In response to the additional information, M was recognised as a refugee in April 2011.

Asylum Aid, a charity that punches above its weight.

‘I am delighted to endorse the first rate work of Asylum Aid, which the Baring Foundation has supported on several occasions. It has championed refugee protection rights both through its thorough casework and its policy and advocacy interventions. It punches above its weight at the national level whilst remaining efficient and focused.’

David Cutler, Director, The Baring Foundation


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Why we do what we do

For a moment, put yourself in their shoes. You’re alone. You’re scared. You feel threatened. And you are in a country that’s alien to you. Yet, you must remain. It’s the only way you will be safe. Returning to your own country will bring only abuse and mistreatment. It may even bring death. You have no alternative but to seek asylum.

But you’re penniless, often homeless, usually friendless. To whom do you turn to argue your case? How do you go about finding a lawyer to represent you, let alone pay for one? How do you know whom to trust? And, all the time these questions are coursing through your brain, thoughts of abuse and threats, and the awful fate that awaits you if you are forced to return home, haunt your memory.

Now put yourself in our shoes. In a civilised society such as ours, how right is it that those in need of asylum are denied sanctuary? Can any of us, with good conscience, suggest that these unfortunate, frightened, traumatised people be returned home against their will? Can any fair-minded person refuse them the right to argue their case? And shouldn’t somebody step forward to help them?

We think your answer to these questions is likely to be yes, and we’re genuinely pleased that the UK Government, as a signatory to the Geneva Refugee Convention, agrees. However, the reality is that most of the legal help provided to vulnerable, traumatized people to make their case for protection is simply not fit for purpose, and has not been for many years.

Up to a point, yes. Asylum seekers are given help from the legal aid budget. But that budget was cut on October 20th 2011. When you consider that most asylum cases are complex and often lengthy, the amount of money provided by the government never went far enough, even before the budget cut. There’s also the question of the quality of legal advice and representation given. Without the help of organisations such as ours, asylum seekers struggle to find lawyers able to argue their cases and who are well-versed in the intricacies of asylum law. The fact is the current legal aid system encourages mediocrity and the ‘cherrypicking’ of simpler cases. This is why we need your help. Good legal representation, of a kind that truly makes a difference to a traumatised asylum seeker, costs more than legal aid provides. In the current economic climate that money is becoming harder to find.

But doesn’t the government pay for legal help?

That’s why, in 1990, we founded Asylum Aid: to provide men, women and children in dire need of asylum with effective legal representation and support. And, make no mistake, they need it.


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A good cause with a bad name

One of the problems that asylum seekers face in the UK is a prevailing culture of scepticism

and disbelief. To some extent this is whipped up by certain elements of the popular press, who

lump asylum seekers in with illegal immigrants, and make little attempt to make a distinction

between the two. While it’s true there are asylum seekers whose claims turn out to be unfounded, this does not mean they are abusing the system.

In fact, the number of ‘bogus’ claims is very small. We are rigorous in assisting those people

who are genuinely entitled to refugee protection, but who would simply be denied it without good

legal representation.


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A matter of life or death: why good legal representation matters

A good cause with a bad name

One effect of the underlying scepticism towards asylum seekers in this country is that without a good representative, able to make a strong legal case, supported by the necessary corroborative evidence, they are unlikely to be taken seriously by the authorities. Where the impact of persecution is exacerbated by gender, age or sexual orientation, the prospects are even more precarious. The outcome of an appeal may literally be a matter of life or death.

We adopt an empathetic approach to asylum seekers, building a relationship based on trust, so that we can coax their often harrowing or tragic experiences out of them. Unfortunately, this is essential if their cases are to have any hope of succeeding, as their circumstances must be described and evidenced in detail.

The sensitive manner in which we respond to the emotional, welfare, medical and legal needs is rare in the UK and marks out Asylum Aid as a unique organisation.

If you think about it you can see why. How can a traumatised torture survivor or an unaccompanied minor be expected to grasp the intricacies of complex asylum law and policy? Likewise, how could they possibly know what’s expected of them within a highly bureaucratic yet unnervingly speedy process, or how to obtain the evidence to back up their claims? And how can they possibly know how to navigate alone what is a highly adversarial interview process?

They can’t, which is why the intervention of Asylum Aid is crucial to the successful outcome of their appeals.


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Case study: the story of ‘G’How the intervention of Asylum Aid prevented a young man being returned to certain persecution.

G fled war-torn Eritrea for the UK in 2002, when he was only 15 years old.

G’s father was a member of the main opposition political party, and political meetings were held at his house. Late in 2002, his father was taken from the family home by police, detained and beaten. G and his mother were themselves detained some days later, and he was throttled and threatened with death. G was released and fled the country. His parents have not been seen since.

Despite this, the Home Office did not believe that G’s life was in danger in Eritrea, and his application for asylum was refused. A subsequent appeal was also dismissed, even though G provided independent medical evidence that the detention and the disappearance of his parents had left him suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Asylum Aid’s Children’s Caseworker helped G make a fresh asylum claim. An expert report was provided for the first time, written by an academic who specialised in Eritrean politics, which confirmed the likelihood that G would face persecution from the Government in Eritrea if he were to be returned. The report successfully challenged many of the assertions made by the Home Office, and G was granted the right to remain in the UK late in 2010.


One charity, two tasks

By now you will have gathered that a large part of Asylum Aid’s remit is to champion the cases of individual asylum seekers. In fact, in the 20-odd years since we were founded, we have handled more than 30,000 such cases.

As you can imagine, this leads to an onerous workload. And, as a matter of policy, we don’t shy away from representing the interests of the most vulnerable, whose cases are often the most complex. For example, women who are the victims of sexual violence; unaccompanied children in search of asylum; people trafficked for prostitution or domestic slavery; or those tortured because of faith or sexual orientation.

It’s gratifying to be able to report that we succeed in four out of five of these cases. This high ratio of success is due, first and foremost, to dedication on our lawyers and caseworkers. But it is also helped in no small part by the way we operate. In every case we strive to deal with our clients in a sensitive and empathetic manner; we take care to make sure that their claims for protection are honestly, fully and clearly told to the authorities; and where necessary, corroborated by evidence of the persecution they have experienced and will certainly face again if returned to their home countries.

Our second task: convincing Government of the need for change.

Asylum Aid has a constructive, though never uncritical, working relationship with the government. Our day-to-day experience of being legal practitioners on behalf of those seeking asylum informs our campaigning for a fair and just system. We apply what we have already learned from experience about the shortcomings of the asylum process to our policy development and lobbying work in such a way that it will be to the benefit of future asylum seekers.

As you might imagine, being so grounded in the asylum process confers upon us great credibility with government ministers and senior officials. Furthermore, our commitment to interaction with government has led to improved decision making in asylum cases. This has benefitted the treatment of women whose persecution has involved sexual violence; provided better access to competent legal representation; and given recognition to the plight of people refused refugee protection, but who nevertheless cannot be removed from the UK.

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30,000 Cases

Credibility

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Shielding the vulnerable from persecutionMost asylum cases fail for two principal reasons: poor decision making by officials, or a lack of competent legal representation. Sometimes it’s a combination of the two that prevent those seeking asylum from being allowed to remain in the UK.

Asylum Aid tackles these two problems head on. Where other providers stand aside or fail to offer quality support, we opt to work with clients who are amongst the most vulnerable in society today – namely women victims of sexual violence; unaccompanied children; people persecuted because of their gender or sexual orientation; those whose experience of persecution is exacerbated by poor mental or physical health; and those who are experiencing inappropriate detention or sub-standard legal representation here in the UK. Then, once we have identified a client in need of our help, we provide access to the best legal advice and representation.

As we said earlier, evidence of our legal work gives weight and credibility to our arguments for reform. We have always believed that it is possible to maintain an asylum system that is fair and efficient; sensitive, yet robust; and both fit for purpose and cost-effective. Our on-going experience continues to confirm this view.


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Where does the money come from?

Obviously, the work we have described costs a considerable sum every year. So how do we

pay for it? Two thirds of our income comes from charitable trusts and foundations. We also generate earnings from legal aid, from policy projects and advocacy projects. But

we get money, too, from private individuals. Currently, only nine per cent of our income is

accounted for in this way. We hope to raise this proportion to twenty per cent over the next

three years in order to safeguard our ability and our capacity to help as many, if not more,

of the people we currently assist. People’s very lives often depend on our service. And that’s

where we’d like your help.


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Why women often need more care

Ask someone to summon up a typical asylum seeker and they will most likely imagine a male political activist – someone persecuted for his protests against the state. But women, too, have always engaged in political activities, albeit of a different kind. Women incur the wrath of the state by, for example, standing up to accepted social mores, such as strictly enforced dress codes. Be under no illusion, sanctions against women are as harsh as those against men, if not more so. Women also face forms of persecution that are particular to their gender such as domestic violence, sexual violence and rape used as a weapon of oppression, forced marriage and genital mutilation.

Asylum Aid has always held the belief that women seeking protection in the UK should be treated with dignity, respect and an understanding that, all too often, women are persecuted in ways that are specific to their gender. So much so, that we set up our women’s project, to focus on giving women protection and security while their applications for asylum are processed. In this we were gratified to be commended at the 2010 Charity Awards, an event that recognises those charities that go the extra mile, and we’re proud that Debora Singer, the leader of our Women’s Project, was awarded an MBE in the 2012 New Year honours for her services to women.

Asylum Aid, providing an admirable casework service

“I have known Asylum Aid over many years now. It provides an admirable casework service for those seeking refuge in Britain. As a result of the experience gained, it has made many positive proposals for improving asylum policy and administration. The worldwide range of its Women’s Asylum News has helped many, both among applicants and practitioners.”

Lord Hylton Member of The House of Lords


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Case study: the story of ‘D’How Asylum Aid helped a women who was at risk achieve refugee status in Britain.

D is an Iraqi woman who married a British citizen in September 2007. She entered the UK on a spousal visa a year later, and moved in with her husband and his family.

D was subjected to sustained domestic violence almost from the moment she moved into the house.

Her husband started verbally abusing her within a week of her arrival, with the support of his family. Two months after that, he began to beat D every day. Whenever she needed medical attention as a result, her husband accompanied her and claimed D had suffered an accident. He raped her three times, and locked her out of the house whenever he went out. She was denied access to any money, and her phone calls and internet-use were monitored by her husband.

After months of abuse, D’s husband told her that a bomb in Baghdad had injured her mother, and she flew back to Iraq. D arrived to discover that this was a lie, and that her mother was fine; but while she was out of the country her husband cancelled her visa and spread allegations to D’s family that she had been unfaithful to him. D’s paternal uncles – and her own brothers – hunted her down in Iraq to her mother’s house, to avenge the dishonour brought upon the family. D fled for her life, first to her aunt’s house and then back to the UK. Under threat of being killed in Iraq – where her mother’s home was under surveillance from family members – and unable to return to her husband, D claimed asylum. As an Iraqi woman at risk of honour killing, D’s asylum claim could be considered under the Refugee Convention as part of a Particular Social Group (PSG).

The UK Border Agency considered the PSG, but nonetheless refused D’s asylum claim. They argued that her account of events were not credible, and cast doubts on the claims of domestic violence, the reasons for returning to Iraq, and the threat posed by members of her family.

D appealed against this decision, and an independent Immigration Judge considered that the UKBA had reached the wrong decision. The judge accepted expert evidence that highlighted the domestic violence to which D had been subjected, and the likelihood that her life would be in danger if required to return to Iraq. Under the terms of the Refugee Convention, D was entitled to be recognised as a refugee, and the Judge duly granted her refugee status.


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Four ways we’ve contributed to asylum reform

We take care to root our arguments for asylum reform in hard evidence gleaned from our legal work or facts gathered from our own research. As you might expect, this confers legitimacy on our recommendations for reform with officials and policymakers. Put simply, they take seriously what we say. At the same time, we are empathetic when we deal with politicians and officials. Being mindful of the pressure they are under is key to developing workable reforms and improvements to the UK asylum system.

In the past year alone, our way of working with government and other officials has helped reform the asylum system in four ways:

1 We persuaded the Government to change the guidance given to UK Border Agency staff dealing with people who are refused protection, but who cannot be removed from the UK through no fault of their own, in order to prevent them disappearing into a limbo of destitution and potential exploitation.

2 We secured greatly improved access to competent legal representation for asylum seekers at the start of their claims, on the basis that this will ensure that many more decisions on asylum cases are ‘right first time’.

3 We ensured that women seeking protection from gender based persecution, whether involving rape, trafficking, domestic violence, genital mutilation, or honour crimes, are treated no less sensitively than women who have the right to reside in the UK when they report crimes of sexual or domestic violence to the authorities.

4 We worked with Government on a joint project with the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) that has quantified the number of stateless persons in the UK, described the poverty and insecurity they experience as a result of having no nationality or legal status, and proposed extending a form of legal protection to them.


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Case study: An example of influential advocacy‘Mapping Statelessness in the United Kingdom’, a joint research report by Asylum Aid and the UNHCR was published on November 22, 2011.When interviewed by the researchers for’Mapping Statelessness’, Derek – not his real name – was asked how he saw his future. He laughed. “I don’t know what to say about the future,” he admitted. “I don’t want to say bad things to myself but I can’t see any future. It’s bad”.

Derek was one of the dozens of stateless people who spoke with Asylum Aid and UNHCR about his experiences, as part of research that looks in detail at the hidden and often complex issue of statelessness in the UK. The report – the most comprehensive piece of work ever produced on this issue – seeks to map the number and profile of stateless people in the UK, and to bring into focus the situation of individuals whose statelessness places them at constant risk of human rights infringements.

Brought up in a refugee camp after fleeing civil war in west Africa, Derek was never given residence or citizenship in the country where he lived. When he was nineteen, he travelled clandestinely to the UK and claimed asylum. The asylum application was refused, and in common with all failed asylum seekers he was expected to leave the UK; but as a stateless person, there was no country to which Derek could return. The UK Border Agency detained Derek for more than seven months, but he was released after repeated attempts to identify a country of nationality or residency failed.

He was in no position to leave the UK voluntarily, and the Border Agency had tried and failed to enforce removal. The International Organization for Migration, then in charge of facilitating voluntary returns, was unable to identify any state that would accept Derek. And yet, neither was there any procedure through which his statelessness could be resolved. When his emergency accommodation was withdrawn, he was left destitute. Derek, in common with many stateless people in the UK, had fallen into a legal limbo over which he had no control, and from which there is currently no escape.

Someone is stateless when they are not considered a national of any state under the operation of its law. This can arise for a variety of reasons: through the application of discriminatory nationality laws, for example, or through administrative failings when births are registered, or as a result of state succession. And its consequences, as Derek’s story shows, can be dire.

The UK has had a workable, humane policy on statelessness in the recent past. ‘Mapping Statelessness’ found that, between 1998 and 2002, stateless people in the UK with nowhere else to go were granted Leave to Remain in line with that granted to refugees. But this policy was quietly dropped, and no alternative approach was introduced to fill the gap. ‘Mapping Statelessness’ shows the ongoing human costs of leaving this gap unfilled, and provides a template for resolving these issues in a way that is durable, sensible and fair.


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Case study: the story of ‘B’How Asylum Aid helped a young Chinese girl remain free from religious persecution.

B is Chinese. Her parents recognize Falun Gong, which is forbidden by the Chinese Government, and organised meetings with other practitioners. B delivered leaflets to help promote these meetings and the virtues of Falun Gong.

In the run-up to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, the Chinese police began to crackdown on followers of Falun Gong. Her parents were picked up by Government officials and have not been seen since. B was arrested by police officers who posed as friends of her family.

B was locked in a cell at a police station. During her detention she was beaten, raped, and threatened with death by officers. She was released only after intervention from a family friend, and she fled to the UK. B was held for a period at Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre after being stopped on suspicion of immigration offences, and she claimed asylum.

In response to the terrible traumas she had faced, B was referred to receive psychiatric care from independent experts on torture and human rights violations. She received therapeutic support from them. They also issued a report to accompany her asylum application, which listed in horrifying detail the symptoms B has displayed: physical injuries from the rape and beatings, suicidal thoughts, uncontrollable shaking, panic attacks, distressing hallucinations, regular seizures, daily headaches, sleeplessness and nightmares, loss of memory. They diagnosed B as being seriously traumatised by her ordeal, and suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Refugee and Migrant Justice (RMJ) initially handled B’s asylum claim. When RMJ went into administration in June 2010, Asylum Aid agreed to take on some of their most vulnerable clients, including B. Asylum Aid made representations to the UK Border Agency on her behalf, and B was recognized as a refugee in August 2010.


A double impact

So why should you help us? What if we were to tell you that every pound you give us makes a double impact. Not only does it go towards fighting the cases of individual asylum seekers (we helped over 1,600 in the past year alone), it also helps inform our lobbying for a fairer and better-run asylum system.

Our commitment to working from a strong evidence base, generated by our direct legal services, our original research and legal analysis, and our partnerships with peers and other related organisations, gives our work a degree of credibility, authority and influence that has led to a number of demonstrable and positive advances in UK asylum policy and practice.

The Government has indeed made efforts to reform the UK asylum process, but the truth is that people seeking refugee protection in the UK today are still subject to poor quality decision making, arbitrary, indefinite detention, a culture of disbelief and an often callous disregard for their welfare.

Asylum Aid, making life better for asylum seekers.

“Asylum Aid have really pushed for simple steps that would make life better for asylum seekers and lead to a fairer and more transparent system for all”

Bridget Phillipson MP for Houghton and Sunderland, member of the Home Affairs Select Committee

We rely on people like you to raise the money needed to continue this important fight on behalf of some of the most unfortunate people on earth.

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What we need and why we need it

The following figures give a good idea of what sums we need to continue our work of providing free, expert, legal representation to vulnerable women and children in need of international protection.

£10,000 will ensure the continuation of the free weekly legal advice surgeries we provide in day centres for destitute asylum seekers in London (2012/13).

£15,000 will meet the cost of the specialist interpretation and expert country information or medical reports we will need in 50 ‘pro bono’ cases (2012/13)

£20,000 will enable us to continue working sensitively and supportively with the traumatised women we represent, for example, by funding our capacity to accompany them to their Home Office interviews and to ensure that childcare is provided (2012/13).

£25,000 will fund our participation in a new partnership with ‘Just for Kids Law’ that will provide 50 young, unaccompanied, refugees and undocumented migrants with the legal advice and the mentoring support they need to live stable and fulfilling lives (2012-14).

£50,000 will enable us to employ a solicitor who will provide dedicated pro bono legal representation to the torture survivors and trafficking victims that are supported by ‘Freedom from Torture’ and the ‘Helen Bamber Foundation’ (2012/13).

The following figures show the sums required to secure demonstrable improvements to the quality of decisions made by government on individual asylum claims.

£10,000 will fund our ‘Rethinking Asylum Legal Representation’ project, which will support the development of community based, pro bono legal services for unrepresented asylum seekers in the UK (2012).

£15,000 will ensure that Asylum Aid, as a recognised expert on the value of providing early access to legal advice, can continue to advise Government on its reform of the UK asylum process (2012/13).

£20,000 will fund the next phase of our ground breaking and influential research into the quality of official decision-making in women’s asylum cases (2012).

£25,000 will enable Asylum Aid to strengthen its capacity to work closely with like minded asylum charities in other European Union member states to influence the development of the proposed Common European Asylum System (2012/13).

£50,000 will underpin our work as a leading proponent of rights for stateless people through the recruitment of a legal policy expert to work closely with the UNHCR and Government on extending protection to those who, through no fault of their own, have no rights to citizenship or residence anywhere in the world and, as a result, are trapped in the limbo of statelessness (2012-14).


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The following figures represent the sums needed to transform the ethos and culture of the asylum system, so that traumatised asylum seekers are treated with sensitivity, respect and dignity.

£10,000 will fund the next stage of our campaign to promote our ‘Charter of Rights of Women Seeking Asylum’, in which we will press for the Government’s commitment to ending violence against women and girls, to extend to women who seek protection in the UK from gender based persecution in their home countries (2012).

£15,000 will fund the core costs of the ‘Detention Forum’, an Asylum Aid project that is working with Parliamentary and Civil Society voices to question the legitimacy of the use of detention for administrative convenience (2012/13).

£20,000 will fund research into the quality of official decision making in the cases of unaccompanied refugee children, using the methodology successfully developed by Asylum Aid’s Women’s Project (2012).

£25,000 will strengthen Asylum Aid’s position as the UK’s leading voice on the plight of women who are persecuted because of their gender, by funding the core and activity costs of our award winning and highly influential Women’s Project (2012/14).

£50,000 will enable us to employ a dedicated Unaccompanied Refugee Children’s solicitor who will work closely with the Refugee Council Children’s Team and with Local Authority Social Services departments who are responsible for the welfare of young refugees and undocumented migrants (2012/13).

We promise to use all donations wisely ...


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Our beneficiaries

The primary beneficiaries of our work are the 1,600 or so people every year who are either advised by Asylum Aid, or represented by Asylum Aid, or both. We have consistently achieved a success rate of over 85% in cases where we have provided representation, despite choosing to work on more complex cases with more marginalised and vulnerable clients.

Secondary beneficiaries are those who have not been represented by Asylum Aid, but whose prospects of successful protection claims have been enhanced as a result of our work in advocacy and policy development. Included amongst these are those who benefit from improvements in the quality of UKBA decision making; greater availability of competent legal representation; and enhanced sensitivity to gender in the asylum process.

Our Costs 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015Income Legal aid/Legal policy and 307,000 315,000 330,000 research projects Charitable Trusts and Foundations 670,000 675,000 680,000Individual supporters 100,000 100,000 100,000Principal donor income target 50,000 75,000 100,000

1,127,000 1,165,000 1,210,000 Expenditure Staffing costs 727,000 748,000 770,000Activity costs 205,000 215,000 220,000Overheads and running costs 170,000 185,000 200,000

1,102,000 1,148,000 1,190,000 Surplus/(Deficit) 25,000 17,000 20,000

Gift Chart

Number of Gifts Amount of Gift Aggregate Cumulative Income (£) Total (£)

1 25,000 25,000 25,0002 20,000 40,000 65,0002 15,000 30,000 95,0004 10,000 40,000 135,0008 5,000 40,000 175,00010 2,000 20,000 195,00020 1,000 20,000 215,00020 500 10,000 225,000

TOTAL £225,000


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Gift Aid

Making personal donations under the Gift Aid scheme.

The Inland Revenue treats Gift Aided donations as if the donor had already deducted basic rate tax from them. The charity can then reclaim this tax to increase the value of a donation. Gift Aided donations are therefore increased by the amount of basic rate tax paid (currently 20%) which can be reclaimed from the Inland Revenue.

For example: • a donation of £4,000 by Gift Aid is thus worth £ 5,000 • a donation of £10,000 by Gift Aid is this worth £12,500 • a donation of £50,000 by Gift Aid is this worth £62,500

Donors who pay higher rate tax can also offset against their future tax liabilities the difference between the higher and lower rates of tax on any donation made under Gift Aid.

A standing order in favour of Asylum Aid will enable us to reclaim basic rate tax each year.

In addition, HMRC will automatically pay the charity a further three pence for every pound donated. This ‘transitional relief’ – to adjust to the fall in basic rate tax (from 22 per cent to 20 per cent) – is available from 6 April 2008 until 5 April 2011. This means for every £1 donated, your charity can receive 28 pence, so the total value of the donation is £1.28.

A donation of £100,000 would thus be worth £128,000.

UK taxpayers are asked to complete the attached form, to ensure that all their donations to Asylum Aid are subject to Gift Aid.

Company donations under the Gift Aid scheme

If a company decides to give money to this appeal, it simply makes the payment through Gift Aid and deducts the amount when working out its profits for corporation tax purposes (sponsorship too can be Gift Aided). The full payment is made with no tax deducted; and the recipient does not claim back any tax so no Gift Aid form is needed. Sole traders are treated as individual givers and a donation under Gift Aid from a partnership is treated as an equal gift by each partner as if they were individual givers.

Benefit limits

There are limits on the amount of benefit that can be received in return for a Gift Aided donation. This is usually 2.5% of the value of the donation and must be under £250 in total value.

Gift Chart

Number of Gifts Amount of Gift Aggregate Cumulative Income (£) Total (£)

1 25,000 25,000 25,0002 20,000 40,000 65,0002 15,000 30,000 95,0004 10,000 40,000 135,0008 5,000 40,000 175,00010 2,000 20,000 195,00020 1,000 20,000 215,00020 500 10,000 225,000

TOTAL £225,000


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Please notify us if you: • Want to cancel this declaration • Change your name or home address • No longer pay sufficient tax on your income

and/or capital gains.

If you pay Income Tax at the higher or additional rate and want to receive the additional tax relief due to you, you must include all your Gift Aid donations on your Self Assessment tax return or ask HM Revenue and Customs to adjust your tax code.

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Please photocopy for your tax records


Fundraising GuidelinesThe Responsibility for the acceptance of funds rests with the Trustees, who have delegated the decisions to the Director.

Asylum Aid cannot accept the following donations:1 Where the acceptance of such funds would lower the standing of the

organisation in the eyes of its current supporters or members of the general public.

2 Individuals, organisations and corporations whose moneys are associated with criminal enterprises and activities.

3 Individuals, organisations and corporations whose donation would lead to a decline in support for the charity, and could be shown to result in a fall in the resources available to Asylum Aid’s beneficiaries.

4 Individuals, organisations and corporations whose moneys are associated with child and people trafficking and human rights abuses.

5 Where the acceptance of such funds would cost the organisation more than the intended donation or where the donation has conditions attached, which are unduly onerous or costly.

6 Where the organisation has first to spend its own money and the assets of the organisation would therefore be under undue or inappropriate risk.

7 Where the donor requires part of the donation to be given to a third party or returned at a future date e.g. money laundering. NB Loans made under a written contract may be acceptable.

Excess FundsIn any appeal for funds, any additional funds over and above the stated appeal target Asylum Aid reserves the right to use these funds to further any of the stated objectives of the organisation. Similarly, in the case of any under-funding of an appeal the funds raised may be used to further any of the organisation’s stated objectives

Our Patrons.Neil Gerrard MPGuy Goodwin GillMiriam MargolyesJon SnowJeremy HardyTerry Jones Rebecca LenkiewiczTerry Waite CBE

Our Board of Trustees.Enver Solomon (Chair)Tyrone Silcott (Treasurer)Annie McDowallTony SamuelMichelle DixonTim FinchCate BriddickGraham DenholmBarbara MarshGabriella BettigaSarita GodberJanice NeedhamRichard Preistman

Our Women’s Project Advisory Committee.Cate BriddickMoira DustinRhian BeynonRehab JameelJuliane HeiderGabriella BettigaJo PettittFariha BhattiAyse BircanEleonore KofmanSedi KeshavarziArchana Sinha Kotecha

Asylum Aid

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Your donations allow us to continue our advice and policy work, helping people find safety from persecution abroad.


Contact

Maurice Wren, DirectorAsylum AidClub Union House253-254 Upper StLondonN1 1RY

[email protected]

Telephone: 020-7354 9631, ext 201Mobile: 07905 976 896Fax: 020-7354 5620 Registered as a charity No. 328729 and as a company limited by guarantee No. 2513874


case for support

Documents