Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that asylum seekers receive face-to-face advice when making or following up a complaint.

Asylum seekers are encouraged to raise any issues they have with the Home Office in person when they attend their reporting office or the asylum screening unit.

Where someone is unhappy with the service provided to them, they are advised to raise this immediately so that the issue can be resolved at the
point where the service was provided. Where someone is not happy with the way their verbal complaint was handled or would like to make a formal complaint they are advised to make a written complaint.

Written complaints are handled by Responder hubs who aim to respond to the complainant within 20 working days following an investigation of their complaint. All complaints are acknowledged and contact information is provided both at the initial stage and at the outcome.

Advice on how to make a complaint is available on the Home Office website at: www.gov.uk/visas-immigration. Leaflets and posters providing this information are displayed in most Home Office premises open to the public.