Overview

• FOI data released by the NHS Business Services Authority confirm asylum seekers held 920,199 of 1.56 million HC2 certificates issued since 2020, accounting for 59% of all awards.
• HC2 certificates provide full waivers on NHS prescriptions, dental care, eye tests, wigs and travel expenses for qualifying low-income recipients.
• Asylum seekers automatically qualify for a certificate if they receive Section 95 support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 and must renew their entitlement every six months.
• Opposition figures describe the concentration of certificates among asylum seekers as evidence of immigration costs, while government spokesmen stress that HC2 status does not confer priority access to services.
• Ministers point to over 35,000 removals and broader asylum system reforms as measures intended to relieve pressures on the NHS following the certificate figures.