Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has set a (a) minimum and (b) maximum time that people will be accommodated at MDP Wethersfield.

Whilst the Home Office anticipates the period asylum seekers may be accommodated at MDP Wethersfield to be between six to nine months, this is dependent on the availability of onward dispersed accommodation. From 13 April 2022, all local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales are considered a dispersal area and will need to take part in asylum dispersal.

This is to ensure a fair and equitable accommodation spread of asylum seekers across the UK. We have agreed targets for every local authority and region in the UK to deliver by the end of 2023.