Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for asylum accommodation policy of using the overseas development budget to help fund asylum accommodation.

The growth of asylum accommodation spending has led to difficult cuts to other UK aid programmes. This Government is committed to rebuilding Britain’s reputation on international development. The Home Secretary is committed to bringing order to the asylum system and has taken steps to unblock the backlog of claims, which will help reduce costs.