Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22 March 2023 to Question 165397 on Asylum: Housing, what the cost to the public purse of the Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility (AIRE) service was in the last year; and what assessment she has made of the AIRE service's performance against its objectives.

Costs are subject to change depending on numbers being accommodated within the asylum system. Accommodation costs are considered to be commercially confidential. Therefore, the Home Office does not publish this information. However, total expenditure on asylum is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at Home Office annual report and accounts: 2021 to 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Robust compliance and governance protocols exist to ensure daily engagement is undertaken with our service providers by Home Office officials to ensure and assure that the providers’ operational delivery and overall performance consistently meet the required standards. If any issues are identified providers are required to take immediate action to address and recover accordingly.

The Home Office has published Key Performance Indicator statistics covering the contractual obligations accommodation providers and others working in the asylum sector are required to deliver. This has been done since April 2020. This data is available at Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for government’s most important contracts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

All asylum seekers have access to a 24/7 Advice, Issues Reporting and Eligibility (AIRE) service provided for the Home Office by Migrant Help where they can raise any concerns regarding accommodation or support services, and they can get information about how to obtain further support. As the data controller the Home Office are best placed to provide comprehensive responses to the requests of MPs. Should an MP approach Migrant Help directly, rather than the MPs correspondence team. Migrant help will refer these requests to the appropriate MPs team to investigate and respond.

It would be inappropriate to comment on commercial arrangements with suppliers. All Home Office commercial contracts are designed to ensure the best value for taxpayers and the Home Office closely monitors its contractor’s performance, including financial results. Any profits above the agreed contractual margins comes back to the Home Office.