8    Can’t Stay. Can’t Go. Refused asylum seekers who cannot be returned they are destitute adds practical problems since they cannot afford to pay for travel to visit their embassy or to send faxes and make phone calls (AIDA 2015). The absence of, or loss of contact with, family members still living in their country of origin who could help them to acquire documents further compounds their difficulties. Given the strict criteria for obtaining Section 4 support, it is not surprising that, as of the end of September 2016, only 2,441 main applicants were being supported under Section 4 (Home Office 2016e). Most of those on support had submitted further representations. Very few people are granted Section 4 support under the criteria of taking all reasonable steps to leave the UK. Home Office records indicate that, in 2015, only 63 destitute, refused asylum seekers were granted Section 4 support on this ground (Brokenshire 2016). 1.2.2 Section 95A The Immigration Act 2016 (HM Government 2016) received royal assent on 12 May 2016 and makes key changes to the existing support framework. Much of the detail of the provisions has been left to the awaited regulations, which will need to be drafted and laid before Parliament before the changes come into force. Once the Minister has approved the draft regulations, the timetable for implementation will become much clearer. Paragraph 1, Schedule 11 of the Act repeals Section 4 for single adults. There will be some transitional protection for those currently receiving Section 4 support; however, the detail of this transition is not yet known. Paragraph 9, Schedule 11 of the Act allows for asylum seekers who reach the end of the process, but who face a “genuine obstacle” to leaving the UK, to be supported under a new provision, Section 95A (HM Government 2016). What is meant by “genuine obstacle” is yet to be defined. This new statutory support will be paid in cash at the same level as Section 95 support (£36.95 per week). While this is welcome, the criteria for accessing Section 95A support will be more restrictive than those for Section 4. Regulations will require single adults to apply within a 21-day “grace period” after refusal of their asylum claim (Home Office 2016f). Home Office records indicate that, of the 63 refused asylum seekers granted Section 4 support in 2015, only five had applied within 21 days (Brokenshire 2016). There will be no right of appeal on refusal of support. The lack of appeal is worrying given a report released by the Asylum Support Appeals Project (ASAP) in September 2014. The report analysed 51 appeals to the First-tier Tribunal (Asylum Support) that challenged the Home Office’s decision to discontinue Section 4 support under regulation 3(2)(a): Taking reasonable steps to leave. In 75 per cent of the appeals, the Home Office’s decision to discontinue support was overturned or reconsidered (ASAP 2014). The 2016 Act also removes Section 94(5) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (HM Government 1999), which allows for asylumseeking families with children to remain supported under Section 95 until they leave the UK. Regulations will provide for Section 95 support to be discontinued after a grace period of 90 days for families whose asylum claim is finally determined and rejected (Home Office 2016f). Section 95A support will be available to families who are destitute and have a “genuine obstacle” to leaving the UK. As with single adults, there will be no right of appeal on refusal of support. The Home Office (2016g) factsheet on support for certain categories of migrants states that these measures have been framed carefully to avoid passing the cost of supporting failed asylum seekers and their families on to local authorities. The Home Office states that it has consulted local authorities and will continue to work closely with them on the detail of the new arrangements and implementation. It also states: “there is no general obligation on local authorities to support illegal migrants who intentionally make themselves destitute by refusing to leave the UK when it is clear they are able to” (Home Office 2016g). 1.3 The risk of statelessness In April 2013, the UK government introduced new immigration rules that provide for an application to remain as a stateless person (UK Visas and Immigration and Immigration Enforcement 2013). Part 14 of the rules defines a stateless person as one who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law. Refused asylum seekers who remain in limbo in the UK because of difficulties with proving nationality or being re-documented are at risk of statelessness. The European Network on Statelessness (2016: 10) uses the term “at risk of statelessness” to refer to individuals who are “in a place of vulnerability that can escalate into statelessness”. According to a best practice guide on statelessness and applications for leave to remain produced by the Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association and Liverpool Law Clinic (Woodhouse