Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2023 to Question 132405 on Migrant Help: Members, whether her Department has agreements with any other organisations for the referral of correspondence from Members of Parliament to her Department's MP Account Management team.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office does not have any other arrangements with other organisations.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what was the cost to the public purse of Asylum Claim Questionnaires in each month since January 2023.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The cost of Asylum Claim Questionnaires is not information currently held in a reportable format.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Asylum Claim Questionnaires were (a) sent to claimants and (b) received by her Department; and what proportion of responses were completely correctly.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The exact number of questionnaires that have been sent to individuals and received back, and completed correctly, is not information currently held in a reportable format.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to The Houses in Multiple Occupation (Asylum-Seeker Accommodation) (England) Regulations 2023, what assessment she has made of the suitability of deregulating housing provisions for properties that accommodate asylum seekers; and for what reason this measure applies only to asylum seeker accommodation.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
This is a temporary exemption to support our delivery of new accommodation places for asylum seekers, while we make productivity improvements that will reduce the number of individuals who are supported.
We are not deregulating housing provisions for asylum seekers, and we continue to work closely with providers to ensure we meet standards set in the Housing Act 1985 and the European Convention on Human Rights.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Houses in Multiple Occupation (Asylum-Seeker Accommodation) (England) Regulations 2023, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of those regulations on (a) potential savings for Government contractors and (b) costs incurred by local authorities.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We recognise that Local Authorities incur costs by providing services and wraparound support to asylum seekers. That is why we introduced grant funding to Local Authorities last year, to recognise their financial contribution. This amounted to £3,500 per new dispersed bedspace delivered, and we are trialling an increase in funding of up to £6,500 per new bedspace this year.
We assess that this change will deliver significant savings for the taxpayer as it will support Government contractors to provide alternative accommodation to hotels.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to The Houses in Multiple Occupation (Asylum-Seeker Accommodation) (England) Regulations 2023, whether her Department plans to introduce safeguards to mitigate against asylum seeker accommodation becoming potentially (a) overcrowded, (b) unsafe or (c) uninhabitable.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We remain committed to providing accommodation that is safe and meets housing standards set out in the Housing Act 1985. Asylum accommodation contracts contain rigorous requirements on property standards, including fixtures and safety features that providers must deliver.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to The Houses in Multiple Occupation (Asylum-Seeker Accommodation) (England) Regulations 2023, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of those regulations on the well-being of asylum seekers.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We continue to work closely with providers to ensure that asylum seekers’ wellbeing needs are met. Asylum accommodation contracts contain rigorous requirements on property standards, including fixtures and safety fittings that providers must deliver, and reasonable adjustments for disabilities and mental health requirements.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2023 to Question 159040 on Asylum: Housing; how many incidents accommodation providers reported to the asylum accommodation and support contracts high profile notification team in customer services in each year since 2022.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The High Profile Notification (HPN) team records and holds details of any act or incident reported by providers involving asylum support service users, asylum support accommodation premises or asylum support service providers that as a consequence of the act or incident, one or more of the following could apply:
The HPN team records details of incidents reported by providers that cover the following categories:
These figures are not available in a reportable format and providing information could only be done at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2023 to Question 159040 on Asylum: Housing; whether the Asylum Accommodation and Support Contracts High Profile Notification team holds information on of the number of incidents reported by each accommodation provider.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The High Profile Notification (HPN) team records and holds details of any act or incident reported by providers involving asylum support service users, asylum support accommodation premises or asylum support service providers that as a consequence of the act or incident, one or more of the following could apply:
The HPN team records details of incidents reported by providers that cover the following categories:
These figures are not available in a reportable format and providing information could only be done at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2023 to Question 159040 on Asylum: Housing; what type of incidents accommodation providers are required to report to the Asylum Accommodation and Support Contracts High Profile Notification team.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The High Profile Notification (HPN) team records and holds details of any act or incident reported by providers involving asylum support service users, asylum support accommodation premises or asylum support service providers that as a consequence of the act or incident, one or more of the following could apply:
The HPN team records details of incidents reported by providers that cover the following categories:
These figures are not available in a reportable format and providing information could only be done at disproportionate cost.