Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information relating to identity verification, documentation status and background checks will be provided to local authorities and police prior to residents being placed at rural asylum accommodation sites.

Information is shared with local authorities and policing partners where appropriate and necessary, consistent with the arrangements that apply for any individual taking up residence in the local area and in accordance with relevant legal and data protection requirements.

When an individual claims asylum, the Home Office will conduct mandatory identity, criminality and security checks. Biographic and biometric data are checked against relevant Home Office systems and police criminality databases including domestic and international data.

The safety of local communities is central to our immigration reforms which is why asylum seekers are routinely screened against policing, criminality, and immigration databases before they are permitted to move into sites.

Information relating to an individual's immigration case and personal circumstances is handled in accordance with data protection legislation and established information-sharing protocols. The Home Office works closely with local authorities, police and accommodation providers where safeguarding or public protection considerations require information to be shared.