Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with contractors on the provision of appropriate accommodation for asylum seeker families in Northern Ireland.

Home Office officials meet regularly with our accommodation provider for Northern Ireland, Mears, who are obliged under the Asylum Accommodation and Support Services Contract (AASC) to ensure that asylum accommodation meets all statutory requirements.

The AASC Statement of Requirements below gives a detailed breakdown of all of the services to be undertaken by our accommodation providers and the standards we expect: http://data.parliament.uk/DepositedPapers/Files/DEP2018-1112/AASC_-_Schedule_2_-_Statement_of_Requirements.pdf(opens in a new tab).