Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department undertook on the ability of local authorities to support numerous asylum seekers located within the local authority area by her Department with approximately 24 hours notice.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

Our ability to find suitable accommodation for people as quickly as is necessary has been impacted by the unprecedented numbers of people crossing the Channel.

As I outlined in my letter to MP’s issued on 18^th November, we have taken immediate steps to improve levels of engagement with key stakeholders, including Local Authorities. These standards will be reviewed regularly and, wherever possible, progressively raised.

In sourcing specific sites, accommodation providers conduct a series of due diligence checks before mobilisation to ensure that accommodation is statutorily and regulatory compliant. We also continue to work closely with local authorities on full asylum dispersal to ensure fairer distribution across the UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many local authorities have signed up to the voluntary dispersal scheme for asylum seekers as of July 2022.

Answered by Kevin Foster

There are currently 168 Local Authorities in the UK with supported asylum seekers residing in dispersal accommodation provided by the Home Office.

A further 24 local authorities have no-one residing in dispersal properties but have supported asylum seekers residing in contingency accommodation

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government plans to make additional funding available for (a) schooling and (b) healthcare for local authorities with higher placements of asylum seekers.

Answered by Kevin Foster

The Home Office is working with Local Authority Chief Executives to ensure asylum seekers who require support because they would otherwise be destitute are dispersed equitably across the UK.

Any extra costs to local authorities caused by the placement of supported asylum seekers in their areas are being considered as part of this work.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether additional funding will be made available to local authorities with higher placements of asylum seekers.

Answered by Kevin Foster

The Home Office is working on an agreed change plan in partnership with Local Authority Chief Executives through the Home Office Local Government Chief Executive Group.

The plan seeks to achieve a more equitable dispersal of asylum seekers across the UK and seeks to overcome barriers to ensure availability of service provision.

We have established working groups with Local Authorities to determine best practice, one of which relates to defining potential additional funding requirements.