Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether training is provided to asylum seekers on British (a) law and (b) culture while asylum applications are being processed.

While asylum applications are being processed, asylum seekers do not receive formal training on British law or culture. However, at the point a claim is made, asylum seekers are provided with written information, including a point of claim information leaflet, which sets out key information about the asylum process and the standards of behaviour expected while their claim is under consideration.

In addition, upon arrival into Home Office‑provided accommodation, asylum seekers receive an induction briefing explaining what constitutes appropriate behaviour. This sets out acceptable and unacceptable behaviours, as well as their responsibilities as individuals to act as good neighbours.

Asylum seekers are clearly advised of the expectations the Home Office and accommodation providers have for them to behave responsibly while they are accommodated in Home Office properties, and not to engage in any form of criminal or anti‑social activity.

No one in the UK, including foreign nationals, asylum seekers or refugees, is above the law. The Home Office does not tolerate criminal behaviour, and asylum seekers who commit criminal offences are subject to the law in the same way as anyone else. Any criminality will be taken into account when considering an individual’s asylum claim, and serious offending can have consequences for a person’s immigration status, including refusal of asylum and removal from the UK where appropriate. Criminal and anti-social behaviour can also lead to removal of asylum support.