Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been accommodated in hostel-type accommodation provided by Compass in each Compass region in each month since 1 April 2015; and how many such people have been held under (a) section 98, (b) section 95 and (c) section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.

In general, there are two types of accommodation used for asylum seekers. First, Initial Accommodation (“IA”) which is mainly full board and is provided while the support application is being assessed. Second, “dispersal accommodation”, generally shared flats, maisonettes and houses, is provided once the person is found to be eligible for support. The length of time someone will stay in an Initial Accommodation centre will vary from person to person according to their particular circumstances. However, the Home Office aims to process their application for financial support and move straightforward cases to longer term dispersal accommodation in participating dispersal towns and cities within 19 days.

The Home Office does not centrally record the number of people housed in initial accommodation under each section of the 1999 Act. It could only be provided at disproportionate cost.