Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she is taking steps to increase the number of inspections of asylum accommodation.

This government is committed to improving service delivery of the Asylum Accommodation Support Contracts (AASC).

The Asylum Accommodation and Support Services Contracts (AASC) Statement of Requirements below gives a detailed breakdown of all of the services to be undertaken by our accommodation providers and the standards expected. Details can be found at:

AASC_-_Schedule_2_- _Statement_of_Requirements.pdf (parliament.uk)(opens in a new tab).

Since 2020, the Home Office accommodation providers are required to visit each property at least monthly, and assurance that contractual requirements are met is tested by the Home Office Contract Assurance Team, which inspects properties and undertakes other assurance activities on an intelligence-led basis. Formal governance mechanisms are in place, to oversee performance and delivery against contractual requirements.

The Home Office has published the Key Performance Indicator (KPI) regime covering the contractual obligations accommodation providers and others working in the asylum sector are required to deliver. This has been done since April 2020. The most recent data is available at:

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for government’s most important contracts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).