Asylum: Napier Barracks

(asked on 3rd February 2021) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how complaints on the conditions of asylum seekers in Napier Barracks are (a) investigated and (b) responded to.


Answered by
Chris Philp Portrait
Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
This question was answered on 8th February 2021

As required by law, we provide asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute with accommodation which is safe, secure and fit-for-purpose, paid for by the taxpayer.

We welcome independent scrutiny of our sites, processes and procedures; and routinely facilitate inspections from relevant bodies to assure ourselves of the ongoing safety and suitability of the accommodation and services we provide.

The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) recently launched a call for evidence on the use of hotels and military barracks as contingency asylum accommodation. The Home Office have received a formal notice of inspection from the ICIBI. The Home Office will work with the ICIBI and his inspection team to facilitate full access to our asylum accommodation estate.

An independent rapid review was also recently conducted to assure ourselves of the extensive COVID-19 protocols in place to safeguard the health and safety of asylum seekers during the pandemic.

The Home Office is currently reviewing and acting upon the recommendations of the review and, as previously stated, will seek to publish a summary of the recommendations in due course. We will also hold round tables with stakeholders to discuss the recommendations, actions taken and proposed next steps.

The Home Office will continue to carefully review the operation of the site and will make any improvements necessary. We continue to work closely with our provider and partners to identify opportunities for improvement, as we do across our entire accommodation estate.

Asylum seekers who are accommodated at Napier receive an induction which outlines the process for raising complaints. A booklet available in ten languages detailing the process is also issued to new arrivals.

All asylum seekers have access to a 24/7 AIRE (Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility) service provided for the Home Office by Migrant Help, where complaints or concerns can be raised, including reporting issues with their accommodation. Migrant Help will then refer the report to the relevant accommodation provider through a designated point of contact.

Community support workers at the site can also support asylum seekers in accessing the AIRE service to raise a complaint. Providers’ staff will make clear to asylum seekers that registering a complaint will not affect their asylum claim.

The provider will then seek to resolve any complaint, within five working days of receipt, and will inform the service user and Migrant Help of the action taken and any subsequent action necessary.

As part of our robust contract compliance measures, providers are required to regularly report to us on complaints handling and support any audits or quality reviews that we may undertake.

The Home Office does not publish statistics relating to complaints raised by those accommodated at Napier Barracks.

Reticulating Splines