Oxfam and the Refugee Council said research showed asylum seekers could not afford to buy essential clothes or shoes.

The charities' joint report published on Thursday is based on research of 40 organisations dealing with refugees.

The study says 85% of the groups reported their clients "sometimes or frequently" experienced hunger.

The government needs to go further and improve the levels of support

Phil Bloomer Oxfam

And 80% of the organisations said refugees were unable to maintain good health.

Chief executive of the Refugee Council Nick Hardwick said: "We have evidence that children and families are going hungry and their health is being detrimentally affected.

"What is at stake is that people are being hurt by this system."

Asylum seekers receive the equivalent of 70% of income support.

Dangers

The report, entitled Poverty and Asylum in the UK, also noted refugees were ineligible to receive milk tokens and vitamins - available to other poor mothers.

It recommended an independent review of Home Office policy by the Social Security Advisory Committee.

The government promises better assessment of migrant countries

Oxfam's Phil Bloomer said: "The abolition of vouchers was an enormous stride towards tackling poverty among asylum seekers, but the government needs to go further and improve the levels of support for them.

"Failure to do so undermines the government's laudable broader aims of countering poverty, social exclusion and race discrimination in the UK."

In a separate development on Wednesday evening, the government proposed a panel of experts make a risk assessment of countries from which asylum seekers flee.

The announcement was in response to concern expressed during the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill's Lords committee stage that people could be returned to states where they would be in real danger.