Groups such as the NSPCC, the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture (MFCVT), the Children's Society and the Refugee Council say the Bill will have a particularly bad effect on children.

The Children's Society believes it will increase harassment against them and have a big impact on their health.

Poverty line

The MFCVT and the Refugee Council say the proposal to replace benefits with a food voucher package will mean refugees are living 30% below the poverty line.

Currently, refugees who apply for asylum at a port of entry still qualify for Income Support.

Many others are on food vouchers which amount to �30 and usually have to be spent in specific shops, allowing little flexibility for shopping around for bargains.

The government says the voucher package will discourage bogus asylum seekers and is worth 90% of Income Support since it includes utilities and furniture.

But refugee groups dispute this. A spokeswoman for the Refugee Council said the government had overestimated the value of utilities like gas, electricity and furnished flats.

She added: "British people do not lose benefit because they have a few wooden spoons and kitchen utensils."

Moreover, several refugees do not have cooking utensils in their flats and find that food vouchers do not cover these.

Many are forced to rely on charities for bedding and clothes.

The MFCVT says Home Secretary Jack Straw's amendments to the Bill, announced last week in an effort to prevent a revolt by Labour backbenchers, "do not amount to real concessions".

Mr Straw said refugees would be offered cash of up to �10 a person per week as well as food vouchers and that asylum applications from families, including appeals, would be heard within six months.

However, the �10 cash will be deducted from the current amount many asylum seekers get from vouchers.

The MFCVT says: "This is giving with one hand while taking away with the other.

"The Bill's basic principle of social exclusion of asylum seekers, therefore, remains unchanged."

Children

There is also concern about the impact of the Bill on children.

The MFCVT say it will remove refugee children from the full protection of the Children Act, leaving them further excluded from British society.

The Bill says that children's needs will be the duty of the Home Secretary, but details will not be made clear until after the Bill becomes law.

The government says refugee children will not be given any less protection than other children.

Human rights and refugee groups says child refugees will be adversely affected by the Bill

The MFCVT is also doubtful about promises to speed up the hearing of family cases and fears any attempt to do so without reforming the whole asylum process will mean other asylum seekers have to wait longer for a decision.

Asylum Aid says the current average waiting time for a decision is 20 months and that there is little evidence that this is coming down.

It blames poor initial decisions, which lead to lengthy appeals.

The MFCVT claims immigration officers often ignore or show little interest in histories of torture.

Helen Bamber, the foundation's director, called the voucher system "dehumanising" and said the proposal to disperse refugees around the country would cause "widespread misery".

She stated: "The Bill should be withdrawn and the resources put instead into deciding asylum claims more quickly and fairly."