CAMPAIGNERS have warned that refugees in Swindon are being forced to choose between eating or buying medicines.

They said that an 80 pence rise in the weekly allowance paid to asylum seekers did not go far enough - predicting it will have only a "marginal" impact on poverty levels.

Under Home Office plans – announced this week – weekly payments to adult asylum seekers are set to rise from £36.95 to £37.75. The increase will come into force on February 5.

The cash handout covers essential living costs, including food, transport and clothing.

Campaigners had hoped that government would increase the allowance further – to no less than 70 per cent of the allowances given out by the government under the mainstream benefits system. It is currently set at the equivalent of 50 per cent of the mainstream benefits handout.

In a report reviewing the allowance, a Home Office panel said that they believed their modest rise “ensures that all asylum seekers and their dependants are provided with sufficient cash to provide for their essential living needs throughout the period they remain on support”.

The panel estimated that adult refugees would need £23.75 a week for food, 2.84 for toiletries and cleaning materials, £2.80 for clothing and footwear, £4.30 for travel and £3 for “communication”.

Swindon is one four towns in the south west designated as a “dispersal” town by the government. Around 200 asylum seekers are housed in the town while the Home Office considers their claim.

Fiona Harvey of Swindon City of Sanctuary, which supports refugees in the town, said: "The current asylum support payment of £36.95 a week is an incredibly low amount for anyone to sustain themselves on.

“Whilst we welcome this incremental increase to £37.75 and are thankful to the UK government, unfortunately 80p a week extra will only marginally impact the levels of poverty experienced by many.

“Many asylum seekers have to make difficult decisions and prioritise one daily essential such as food, travel, prescriptions or clothes at the expense of another.

“£36.95 amounts to 50 per cent of the equivalent allowances provided by the Department for Work and Pensions under the mainstream benefits system. Multi-agency campaigns are running to increase this to 70 per cent, a more realistic figure for meeting the increasing cost of living in the UK. Swindon City of Sanctuary are currently working with South Swindon MP Robert Buckland on this and other campaigns."