Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what legal assistance is available at the asylum seeker camps in (1) Penally, and (2) Folkestone, to help those who wish to seek refugee status.

All asylum seekers have access at all times to Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility (AIRE), a single, integrated service provided for the Home Office by Migrant Help.

The AIRE service provides advice and guidance to asylum seekers on the asylum process, their rights and signposts different services.

This includes information on the availability of legal advice and representation, including legal aid, upon induction into temporary accommodation.

The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area, which includes those in hotel and wider government facilities. These statistics can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets#asylum-support.

There is no secrecy about our use of Napier and Penally as accommodation, but privacy of individuals must be maintained. The accommodation itself is entirely adequate for its purpose, with the same standards applied as for other asylum accommodation. We are taking great care to ensure that we provide safe, secure accommodation and that everyone has access to the support they need. This includes providing asylum seekers with privacy and confidentiality as would be expected for those seeking sanctuary in the UK where it would be damaging for their identities to be revealed.