Draft Asylum Seekers (Reception Conditions) (Amendment) Regulations 2026

Parliament voted on 28 April 2026 to approve the Draft Asylum Seekers (Reception Conditions) (Amendment) Regulations 2026, passing by 308 votes to 81. The regulations give ministers the power to suspend or withdraw asylum support, including accommodation and financial assistance, from asylum seekers found to be working illegally, and remove the automatic duty on the Home Secretary to provide support in every case. The vote matters because it directly affects the living conditions of over 100,000 asylum seekers currently in the system. By removing the automatic entitlement to support and enabling withdrawal of accommodation and subsistence payments as a sanction, the regulations shift the basis on which the state provides for people whose claims are being processed. Supporters argue the measures deter rule-breaking and bring firmness to an asylum framework that has lacked it. Critics argue the regulations risk pushing vulnerable people into destitution without addressing the underlying cause of illegal working, namely the ban on asylum seekers taking employment while their claims are pending. The vote divided sharply along party lines. Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs voted overwhelmingly in favour, providing 306 of the 308 ayes. The Liberal Democrats, Scottish National Party, Greens, and Plaid Cymru voted unanimously against, contributing the bulk of the 81 noes alongside a small number of independents. The Democratic Unionist Party, despite generally taking a restrictive line on immigration, voted against in its three attending members. One Labour MP broke with the government to vote no. On the same day, Parliament also approved the Draft Immigration and Asylum (Provision of Accommodation to Failed Asylum-Seekers) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 by 304 votes to 28, a related measure covering failed asylum seekers, suggesting a coordinated tightening of support rules across the asylum system.