Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to stop housing asylum seekers in (a) barracks and (b) other forms of institutional housing and use community-based housing for asylum seekers.

Increased asylum intake, alongside measures taken to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, has meant that the Home Office has had to deal with growing demand for asylum support and accommodation services. In recent months we have faced additional challenges which have required us in some instances to use contingency accommodation, including hotels, to fulfil or statutory obligations to house destitute asylum seekers whilst their claims are examined.

In order to reduce the use of such contingency accommodation we have been working closely with local authorities and devolved administrations to identify opportunities to increase the amount of dispersal accommodation available and to assist those that are no longer eligible for asylum support to ‘move-on’ from asylum accommodation. This has been handled through a calm, considered and phased approach and in line with current health guidance.

Should any Local Authority agree to become an asylum dispersal area we are committed to work with them immediately to source community based accommodation in their areas, increasing the number of properties available to our providers and our ability to move people from contingency accommodation.

It remains our intention to move all individuals in contingency accommodation into suitable dispersed accommodation as soon as reasonably practical, however our immediate priority is to ensure that we continue to meet our legal duty to house destitute asylum seekers and ensure their safety and wellbeing