Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to section 4 of the Asylum accommodation support transformation: policy equality statement, updated by his Department on 8 September 2020, when the Asylum Accommodation and Support Transformation project was established; and what monitoring mechanisms are in place to help ensure accommodation providers are considering and understanding the (a) protected characteristics and (b) other specific needs of people in their accommodation.

The Asylum Accommodation and Support Services Contracts (AASC) Statement of Requirements below gives a detailed breakdown of all of the services to be undertaken by our accommodation providers and to the standards we expect. This includes expectations on accommodation providers, recognising protected characteristics and ensuring individual’s specific needs are met. Full details of our polices: AASC_-_Schedule_2_-_Statement_of_Requirements.pdf (parliament.uk).

The AIRE (Advice, Issue Reporting & Eligibility) service has also introduced more independent and transparent oversight of standards through clearer complaints mechanisms for asylum seekers and supporting data that allows more intelligent targeting of performance improvement. The Home Office also employ a dedicated contract assurance team whose core activity scrutinising the providers’ monthly performance is one of three main strands of work, the other two being property inspections and assurance reviews.