Divergent Practices in Statutory and Voluntary-Sector Settings? Social Work with Asylum Seekers Kim Robinson 1, * and Shepard Masocha 2 1 School of Health & Social Development, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia 2 School of Psychology, Social Work and Social Policy, Division of Education, Arts and Social Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia *Correspondence to Dr Kim Robinson, School of Health & Social Development, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong Waterfront Campus, Locked Bag 20001, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia. E-mail: kim.robinson@deakin.edu.au Abstract The landscape for social work is continually changing and working with asylum seekers remains a highly charged and contested area of practice. This paper compares the role of social workers working with asylum seekers in statutory and voluntary- sector settings in the UK. Institutional practices suggest a divide between statutory settings and charitable organisations. However, based on empirical qualitative re- search and in-depth interviews with thirty-four social workers in Scotland and the south-east of England that explored dominant discourses influencing their practice, we suggest considerable similarities in the different sectors. Austerity measures for lo- cal authorities (LA) and voluntary agencies have resulted in the closure of specialist teams and reduced funding for social workers. Findings highlight politicised dominant narratives when working with asylum seekers and we argue for alternatives that pro- mote a more nuanced perspective of entitlement and human rights. Keywords: Social work, asylum seekers, voluntary sector, statutory sector, human rights Accepted: July 2016 # The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The British Association of Social Workers. All rights reserved. British Journal of Social Work (2016) 0, 1–17 doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcw105 British Journal of Social Work Advance Access published August 29, 2016 at Deakin University Library on September 12, 2016 http://bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/ Downloaded from