Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has made an assessment of the impact of housing asylum seekers on the economies of towns due to receive levelling up funding.

Under the Immigration & Asylum Act 1999, the Home Office has a statutory obligation to provide asylum seekers, who would otherwise be destitute, with accommodation and support whilst their claim is under consideration.

The record number of people that have crossed the Channel in small boats in recent years has placed the Home Office’s asylum support infrastructure and accommodation services under immense pressure. The enduring solution is to stop the boats and that is why the government has brought forward the illegal migration bill alongside a range on non-legislative measures to restore deterrence to the system.

Central to our focus is the impact on local communities, including access to public services, community cohesion and public order; delivering value for money for the taxpayer; and reducing pull factors to enter the UK illegally. It is against these criteria that we will consider further contingency accommodation options.

In recognition of these pressures the Government has announced an increase in funding for local authorities who help to support asylum seekers and encourage councils to bringaccommodation online more quickly.