Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers have been (a) transferred to and (b) housed at the asylum accommodation centre at MDP Wethersfield site since it opened.

We are using a phased approach, increasing the number of asylum seekers accommodated at the site over time with the practicalities of managing the site under constant review. The site can accommodate 1700 individuals when fully operational. From 13 April 2022, all local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales are currently 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. Scotland is currently not meeting its dispersal accommodation target.