Asylum seekers in UK should have right to work after six months, MPs say

At present, most people awaiting a decision on an asylum claim have no right to work in the UK. Photograph: Peter Marshall/Alamy

Asylum seekers should be given the right to work after six months and granted greater access to public services, MPs have said in a cross-party report on the UK’s immigration system.

The government’s existing policies appear “designed” to push migrants and asylum seekers into destitution while failing to deter them from coming to the UK, it concludes.