Asylum: Finance

(asked on 17th June 2021) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what risk assessments were made ahead of her Department's change of contractor for the provision of Aspen cards.


Answered by
Kevin Foster Portrait
Kevin Foster
This question was answered on 22nd June 2021

All Home Office projects, including the delivery of the new contract providing asylum support payments, have robust risk management mechanisms and practices in place. Engagement with our strategic delivery partners, accommodation providers and Migrant Help-including the consideration of risks-took place well in advance of the project rollout/go-live.

This will continue through an already-established service delivery management process which ensures ongoing risks are understood and appropriately managed across the many different provisions which support the asylum-seeking population.

The number of people eligible for asylum support; as well as the card activation rate; is a fluid and fluctuating figure. They change on a daily basis due to new service users entering the system, the provision of support and card activation numbers in particular increasing over time.

Fully functioning and tested Aspen cards have been distributed to all service users. The vast majority have activated it and have been using it successfully since the service went live on Monday 24th May 2021. Where replacement cards have been requested, they are being actioned swiftly and are being dispatched to service users accordingly.

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