A/HRC/41/39/Add.1 F. Asylum seekers 83. Destitution appears to be a design characteristic of the asylum system. Asylum seekers are banned from working and limited to a derisory level of support that guarantees they will live in poverty. The Government promotes work as the singular solution to poverty, yet refuses to allow this particular group to work. While asylum seekers receive some basic supports such as housing, they are left to make do with an inadequate, povertylevel income of around £5 a day.109 They also face major barriers to health care.110 G. Rural poverty 84. Despite the idyllic traditional image of the English countryside and lower rates than in urban areas, poverty persists in rural areas and can be particularly harsh. Rural dwellers are particularly affected by cuts to transportation and public services and are at a higher risk of loneliness and isolation. Without adequate access to transportation, people may not be able to reach places of employment where they could otherwise get a job. And in an era of “digital by default”, lack of broadband Internet or access to libraries is particularly problematic. Government officials claim that anyone can walk off the street and get support to apply for benefits, but that is simply not the case for people living outside major cities. VIII. Devolved administrations 85. Devolved administrations have tried to mitigate the worst impacts of austerity, despite experiencing significant reductions in block grant funding and constitutional limits on their ability to raise revenue. Scotland and Northern Ireland each report spending some £125 million per year to protect people from the worst impacts of austerity and, unlike the United Kingdom Government, the three devolved administrations all provide welfare funds for emergencies and hardships. 86. But mitigation comes at a price, and is not sustainable. The Scottish Government said it had reached the limit of what it can afford to mitigate, because every pound spent on offsetting cuts means reducing vital services. The mitigation package in Northern Ireland runs out in 2020, leaving vulnerable people facing a “cliff edge” scenario. For devolved administrations to have to spend resources to shield people from government policies is a powerful indictment. A. Northern Ireland 87. In Northern Ireland, the suspension of the devolved coalition government forecloses the possibility of any major efforts to tackle poverty and results in an accountability vacuum. Steps have been taken to mitigate some of the worst effects of austerity, including adopting a more humane approach to certain aspects of UC. But a £500 million mitigation package is set to run out in 2020, and its expiration could have dire consequences for people living in poverty. Long-term unemployment rates are more than twice those of the United Kingdom as a whole. 88. In Belfast, communities are still segregated by physical barriers and inequalities have persisted along religious lines, official denials notwithstanding. As of 2016, a startling 69 per cent of those long-term unemployed are Catholic, compared with 31 per cent of Protestants.111 People in Belfast said that the government was not building sufficient social 109 110 111 18 See http://lifttheban.co.uk/. Laura B. Nellums and others, The Lived Experiences of Access to Healthcare for People Seeking and Refused Asylum, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Research Report 122, November 2018, p. 32. The Executive Office, Labour Force Survey Religion Report 2016: Annual Update – January 2018.