Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that all children of school age and who live in initial asylum accommodation are receiving access to education during the covid-19 lockdown announced in January 2021.

Initial accommodation is short term accommodation and previously children would not be enrolled in school until they have been dispersed, however, during the pandemic families have been in initial accommodation for longer than usual. To ensure children are able to have access to education our provider staff are signposting parents to how to obtain a school place with the local authority.

We are prioritising families with children for dispersal from Initial Accommodation to longer term dispersed accommodation.