Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding is being made available to local authorities across government to support councils with the cost of (a) asylum seekers and (b) their children in 2024-25.

The Home Office has had various grants through which we provide funds to support local authorities housing asylum seekers.

• Grant 7 was launched in April 2024 to facilitate local authority support of increased dispersal accommodation (DA) accommodation. The £3500 payment will be made for the net growth of occupancy in each quarter for Home Office Supported Asylum Seeker accommodation within the geographical bounds of the local authority under the following categories; DA, overflow dispersal accommodation (ODA) and initial accommodation (IA).

• Grant 6 was launched in April 2024 to acknowledge the contribution of Local Authorities to supporting asylum seekers. A payment of £750 was made for each occupied bedspaces as of 01 April 2024 and a subsequent payment will be made for the net growth of occupancy in each quarter for Home Office Supported Asylum Seeker accommodation within the geographical bounds of the local authority under the following categories; DA, ODA and IA and contingency accommodation (CA).

All local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales who support asylum seekers are eligible for payment. Similar arrangements are in place for Northern Ireland.