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Why do asylum seekers come here?

March 19, 2002

A question that is puzzling one of Europe's leading experts in social policy is `Why are refugees and economic migrants so keen to come to Britain?` Professor Peter Taylor-Gooby, a social policy professor at the University of Kent at Canterbury (UKC), has been analysing the different welfare systems across Europe and finds it hard to understand why the UK is such a popular destination for asylum seekers.

Professor Taylor-Gooby points out: 'There are a number of other countries that present a far more attractive proposition than the UK, so it is difficult to understand why asylum seekers go to such a tremendous amount of trouble to come here.'

In September 2001 Taylor-Gooby was commissioned by the EU to study social policy across Europe and publish a report which would help inform the EU in the decisions they make when trying to influence national policies of individual countries. As a result he says: 'I have found that the UK has some of the least generous welfare systems in Europe. The Netherlands and France provide better financial benefits and better health care. There is obviously a myth surrounding the UK which continues to attract thousands of people each year.'

Professor Taylor-Gooby heads the EU research team made up of people from the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Finland which is looking at convergence in welfare systems across Europe. The project is taking place over three years and its key stages involve writing background review papers and conducting interviews with key actors in the policy-making process about family changes, labour market change and population ageing.

Kent, University of