Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether a provider contracted by her Department has entered into negotiations, agreements or contractual arrangements with property owners or their agents for the provision of asylum accommodation in Audlem, Cheshire East, since 5 July 2024.

The Home Office provides support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 to asylum seekers and their dependants who would otherwise be destitute in order to comply with its legal obligations. The Home Office is committed to ensuring that destitute asylum seekers are housed in safe, secure and suitable accommodation, and that they are treated with dignity while their asylum claim is considered.

The Home Office is working closely with local authorities, property partners and the local community as we transition away from using hotels. This will see a move towards the use of large sites, including ex-military sites, for asylum accommodation, to reduce the impact on local communities.

Alongside this, we continue to expand the use of dispersal accommodation. This approach is being implemented in close consultation with local authorities across the UK to ensure dispersal is balanced and community needs and concerns are taken into account.

Property owners are under no obligation to contract with the Home Office’s accommodation providers. We are unable to comment on contractual arrangements between these vendors and the accommodation provider as we are not privy to them, and they are commercially sensitive.