without permission, then he or she may have committed an offence.262 A small number of participants were able to work because they had been granted leave to enter or remain which did not have a limitation on employment.263 One participant had been granted permission to work even though his asylum claim was still outstanding.264 There are no provisions in current UK law or policy which allows stateless persons to work as a result of their stateless status. They are prohibited from working unless they gain the entitlement upon another basis, such as being granted leave to enter or remain without a restriction on employment, or unless the Secretary of State for the Home Department exercises discretion in their favour.265 The same is true of “unreturnable” persons. This should be placed in the context of the UK Border Agency’s increasing focus on the detection, arrest and prosecution of non-nationals who work without permission.266 The seven participants who admitted to having worked without permission in order to avoid destitution were therefore at increased risk of detection and prosecution if they continued to work. 5.3.2 Entitlement to benefits, housing and the right to a minimum standard of living The 1954 Convention obliges state parties to provide the same treatment to stateless persons as to nationals in respect of “public relief and assistance”267 and, subject to additional limitations, “social security”.268 However, as in respect of employment, there is an additional requirement that the stateless person be “lawfully staying” if he or she is to fall within the scope of the obligation. The UK’s obligations in international human rights law require recognition of the right of everyone to social security, including social insurance.269 In addition, they recognise the rights of individuals to minimum standards of living270 and the highest attainable standard of health.271 In the case of undocumented stateless persons on the UK territory, these provisions are mutually reinforcing, and in the event that the individual is prohibited from or is unable to 262 Immigration Act 1971, section 24 makes it an offence to, without reasonable excuse, fail to “observe any restriction imposed on him under Schedule 2 or 3 of this Act...as to employment or occupation.” 263 Participants 9, 14, 23, 26, 34, 35 and 37 had worked, while participants 8, 19, 28 and 33 had not worked despite their immigration status permitting them to do so. 264 See Immigration Rules (HC 395), paragraph 360 and ZO (Somalia) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2010] UKSC 36. The Immigration Rules prescribe that asylum-seekers are not permitted to work unless their claim for asylum has not been decided for 12 months or, following litigation, if they have made further representations after the refusal of their initial application and any appeal, if no decision has been made on the further representations for 12 months. In August 2010, the provision was amended to restrict access to shortage occupation professions. These provisions purport to comply with a minimum standard contained within Article 11 of the Reception Conditions Directive. 265 For example, if granted temporary admission, under Immigration Act 1971, Schedule 2, paragraph 22 (2). 266 See, for example, Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association, “Information Sheet: Illegal Working”, available at: http://www.ilpa.org.uk/resources.php/4600/illegal-working 267 1954 Convention, Article 23. 268 Ibid., Article 24. 269 ICESCR, Article 9. 270 Ibid., Article 11. 271 Ibid., Article 12 in the United Kingdom 95