Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will pause the current asylum accommodation tendering process while an assessment is made of how best to ensure the viability of companies which might bid for such tenders.

All Home Office contracts are tendered in compliance with the EU Procurement Directives and as part of its tendering process an assessment of financial viability is undertaken, which is in line with best practice and Cabinet Office guidance. The assessment is proportionate to the risk of the procurement being undertaken and is completed on each bidder by independent qualified accountants. The outcomes are considered within the normal tendering governance processes. The recommendations of the independent assessment will be considered alongside any other financial intelligence and insights that are held as part of the wider Government Commercial Function.

As the assessment of financial viability is part of the standard procedures undertaken by the Department there is no requirement to pause the current asylum accommodation tendering process.