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1129771

	registered interest
	date	04/06/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason his Department decided to move the provision of financial support to asylum seekers from post offices to Aspen cards.
	tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
	tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
	uin	260049
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2019 answer text <p>The functionality of the Aspen card was thoroughly tested prior to its rollout in May 2017 and there were a number of factors which influenced the decision to move to a payment card from Post Offices.</p><p>Primarily, the sub-contractual arrangements were coming to an end, and the Asylum Registration Card (ARC) used for identification and payment purposes was being upgraded. Other factors included improved convenience and accessibility for service users, and a reduction in processing costs associated with reduced cash handling.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 11/06/2019 14:08:25 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1129775

	registered interest
	date	04/06/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much financial support was paid to asylum seekers through post offices in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
	tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
	uin	260050
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2019 answer text <p>Post May 2017 all funding for financial support was paid to asylum seekers via ASPEN cards and prior to that Home Office records do not indicate whether financial support was paid via a Post Office, a card or in cash/vouchers to asylum seekers.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 11/06/2019 14:08:59 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1129776

	registered interest
	date	04/06/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when his Department's contract to provide financial support to asylum seekers through an Aspen card will expire.
	tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
	tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
	uin	260051
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2019 answer text <p>The Home Office’s contract to provide financial support to asylum seekers through an Aspen Card will expire on 27 November 2019 (with the option to extend for a further 6 months to 27 May 2020).</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 11/06/2019 14:13:17 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1129777

	registered interest
	date	04/06/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to the public purse is of the contract to provide financial support to asylum seekers through Aspen cards.
	tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
	tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
	uin	260052
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2019 answer text <p>The Home Office does not publish data on the costs to the public purse for the contract to provide financial support to asylum seekers through Aspen cards.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 11/06/2019 14:09:56 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1124892

	registered interest
	date	07/05/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether funding currently dedicated to asylum matters will be ring-fenced following the UK's departure from the EU.
	tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
	uin	HL15567
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>There are currently no plans to apply a ring fence to asylum payments in this financial year.</p><p>Any new restrictions to departmental spending would be agreed with HM Treasury. Any further changes would form part of the Spending Review discussions taking place this year for financial year 2020-21 onwards.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 21/05/2019 15:29:48 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

1055898

	registered interest
	date	06/02/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department undertook a Data protection impact assessment (a) or (b) after the introduction of the Aspen card in asylum support arrangements.
	tabling member constituency	Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East
	tabling member printed	Stuart C. McDonald
	uin	217611
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2019 answer text <p>The introduction of Aspen (2016) pre-dates the requirement for a data pro-tection impact assessment (DPIA), which was introduced as part of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Appropriate legal advice was nevertheless obtained prior to the scheme being launched. In line with good practice, a review of current practice is being conducted to ensure that it is compliant with the GDPR, which will include the completion of a DPIA.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 12/02/2019 12:01:58 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4393 label Biography information for Stuart C McDonald

1055899

	registered interest
	date	06/02/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has held discussions with the Information Commissioner on the effect of the introduction of the Aspen on (a) data protection and (b) an individuals privacy.
	tabling member constituency	Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East
	tabling member printed	Stuart C. McDonald
	uin	217612
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/02/2019 answer text <p>The introduction of the Aspen Card and its effect on data protection and privacy has not been discussed with the Information Commissioner.</p><p>As part of the project, consideration was given to the privacy aspects of the scheme. The terms and conditions relating to Aspen usage received appropriate legal scrutiny prior to being published and make it clear that personal data will be used only for the prevention of fraud and to preserve the integrity of the scheme which includes ensuring the welfare of card users</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 21/02/2019 16:44:01 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4393 label Biography information for Stuart C McDonald

1055900

	registered interest
	date	06/02/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers have had their asylum support (a) suspended and (b) discontinued as a result of information obtained by the monitoring of the usage of an Aspen card.
	tabling member constituency	Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East
	tabling member printed	Stuart C. McDonald
	uin	217613
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/02/2019 answer text <p>Where evidence comes to light that would suggest a supported asylum ap-plicant has access to alternative accommodation and support, we would invite the applicant to give an account of their activity.</p><p>Evidence can come from a number of sources, including Aspen usage data. Suspension and any subsequent discontinuation of support due to a breach of conditions carries a right of appeal. Data is not held in a publishable format.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 21/02/2019 16:45:37 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4393 label Biography information for Stuart C McDonald

1023211

	registered interest
	date	11/12/2018
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what financial support mechanisms his Department has in place to support asylum seekers.
	tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
	tabling member printed	Catherine West
	uin	201228
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2018 answer text <p>The Home Office ensures asylum seekers are not left destitute by providing appropriate support under section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. The support package usually consists of free, furnished accommodation (with utility bills and council tax paid) and a weekly cash allowance to meet other essential living needs. But those who find accommodation through friends or relatives may be provided with the allowance only. <br> <br>The level of the allowance, currently set at £37.75 per week for each person in the household, is reviewed each year to make sure it is sufficient to cover essential living needs.</p><p>The most recent assessment of the adequacy of the asylum support rates is set out in a report published in March 2018, which can be found at:<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-review-of-cash-allowance-paid-to-asylum-seekers.%20" target="_blank"> https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-review-of-cash-allowance-paid-to-asylum-seekers. </a></p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 17/12/2018 16:57:10 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

964487

	registered interest
	date	03/09/2018
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the rates of financial assistance provided through asylum support.
	tabling member constituency	Houghton and Sunderland South
	tabling member printed	Bridget Phillipson
	uin	169325
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2018 answer text <p>The most recent assessment of the adequacy of the asylum support rates is set out in a report published in March 2018, which can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-review-of-cash-allowance-paid-to-asylum-seekers" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-review-of-cash-allowance-paid-to-asylum-seekers</a>.</p><p>We are currently undertaking a further review of the rates and have consulted key stakeholders in the normal way.</p><p>The consultation period has now ended and a decision on whether the rates should change will be made shortly.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 06/09/2018 15:30:16 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson

964489

	registered interest
	date	03/09/2018
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has plans to extend the length of time that newly recognised refugees can continue to claim asylum support after a decision to grant leave to remain.
	tabling member constituency	Houghton and Sunderland South
	tabling member printed	Bridget Phillipson
	uin	169326
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/09/2018 answer text <p>Newly recognised refugees can continue to claim asylum support for a further 28 days after the grant of their status. There are no plans to extend this period.</p><p>The grant of refugee status means refugees are eligible to apply for mainstream benefits. If they would like assistance with the application an early appointment at a local job centre is arranged for them. This process is designed to ensure that refugees receive the first payment of any benefit they are entitled to before the 28 days period expires, either by full payment of the benefit or through an advance payment.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 11/09/2018 12:55:59 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson

944077

	registered interest
	date	18/07/2018
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what emergency measures his Department has put in place whose application for asylum seekers for asylum support and whose application has been affected by ATLAS IT failures to ensure that such asylum seekers are not left destitute.
	tabling member constituency	Manchester, Gorton
	tabling member printed	Afzal Khan
	uin	165712
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/07/2018 answer text <p>This government is committed to ensuring asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute are supported while applications are considered. Any asylum seeker who encounters issues with their support may contact Migrant Help free of charge for assistance and immediate access to interim support can be provided where eligibility has been confirmed. We continue to work closely with our IT and commercial partners and other stakeholders to resolve the issues that have recently affected a minority of service users following the introduction of the new system, to ensure that that no service users are left destitute.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 27/07/2018 13:56:50 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4671 label Biography information for Afzal Khan

942037

	registered interest
	date	16/07/2018
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how long it takes for an asylum seeker to receive a decision on their application for section 4 support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999; if successful in their application, how soon they should receive that support; and what is the average time taken (1) to decide an application for section 4 support, and (2) for payment to be made.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
	uin	HL9551
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2018 answer text <p>The Home Office has a range of measures for processing asylum support applications depending on the nature of the application being made. Access to accommodation and subsistence payments is provided once suitable accommodation is sourced and eligibility confirmed. Currently information on processing times is not recorded in a format suitable for publication and there are no plans to publish such statistics at this time.</p><p>The Home Office is continuing to work with the National Asylum Stakeholder Forum to consider what further information could be made publicly available once the new IT system for asylum support casework has been fully implemented later this year.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 23/07/2018 12:47:29 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

940704

	registered interest
	date	13/07/2018
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will publish his Department's targets for the processing of decisions on applications for asylum support.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Hall Green
	tabling member printed	Mr Roger Godsiff
	uin	163742
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/07/2018 answer text <p>The Government is committed to promoting fairness and transparency for those applying for asylum support. The Home Office closely monitors and shares information with stakeholders on the current suite of measures for processing support applications. However information on processing times is not recorded in a format suitable for publication and there are no plans to publish such statistics at this time.</p><p>The Home Office is continuing to work with the National Asylum Stakeholder Forum to consider what further information could be made publicly available once the new IT system for asylum support casework has been fully implemented later this year.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes grouped question UIN 163743 question first answered 18/07/2018 14:39:54 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	304 label Biography information for Mr Roger Godsiff

940705

	registered interest
	date	13/07/2018
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will take steps to introduce a transparent system for the monitoring of his Department's performance on the time taken to make decisions on applications for asylum support; and if he will publish the results of that performance.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Hall Green
	tabling member printed	Mr Roger Godsiff
	uin	163743
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/07/2018 answer text <p>The Government is committed to promoting fairness and transparency for those applying for asylum support. The Home Office closely monitors and shares information with stakeholders on the current suite of measures for processing support applications. However information on processing times is not recorded in a format suitable for publication and there are no plans to publish such statistics at this time.</p><p>The Home Office is continuing to work with the National Asylum Stakeholder Forum to consider what further information could be made publicly available once the new IT system for asylum support casework has been fully implemented later this year.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes grouped question UIN 163742 question first answered 18/07/2018 14:39:54 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	304 label Biography information for Mr Roger Godsiff

928773

	registered interest
	date	21/06/2018
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of living for long periods of time on asylum support on the integration outcomes of new refugees.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Hall Green
	tabling member printed	Mr Roger Godsiff
	uin	156328
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/06/2018 answer text <p>No assessment has taken place about the impact of the time people spend on asylum support on the integration of new refugees. The support available to people who claim asylum includes free accommodation, a cash allowance to cover essential living needs, free healthcare and education for their dependent children.</p><p>If a supported person is granted refugee status they are able to take employment or apply for mainstream benefits.</p><p>The Integrated Communities Strategy Green Paper sets out our commitment to working with civil society and other partners to increase the integration support for refugees in the United Kingdom. The consultation on the Green Paper closed on 5 June and we are considering the responses.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 26/06/2018 16:40:46 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	304 label Biography information for Mr Roger Godsiff

927065

	registered interest
	date	19/06/2018
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Aspen cards issued to asylum seekers have failed to work since their introduction in 2017.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
	tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
	uin	155399
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2018 answer text <p>The functionality of the Aspen card was thoroughly tested prior to its rollout in May 2017 however the Home Office is aware that a minority of service users have experienced delays in the processing of their applications and payments. We continue to work closely with our IT and commercial partners and other stakeholders to ensure that any issues raised in respect of Aspen cards are resolved and no service users are left destitute.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 25/06/2018 16:11:41 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

926682

	registered interest
	date	18/06/2018
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of weekly asylum support rates.
	tabling member constituency	Wigan
	tabling member printed	Lisa Nandy
	uin	154697
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2018 answer text <p>The most recent assessment of the adequacy of the asylum support rates is set out in a report published in March 2018, which can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-review-of-cash-allowance-paid-to-asylum-seekers" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-review-of-cash-allowance-paid-to-asylum-seekers</a>.</p><p>The methodology used in the assessment takes account of the views of stakeholders and has been approved by the courts as lawful. There are no plans to change the methodology, but a further review of the rates will take place later this year and stakeholders will be consulted in the normal way.</p><p>No assessment has taken place about the impact of the time people spend on asylum support on the integration of new refugees. At the point those receiving support are granted refugee status they are able to take employment or apply for mainstream benefits.</p><p>The Integrated Communities Strategy Green Paper sets out our commitment to working with civil society and other partners to increase the integration support for refugees in the United Kingdom. The consultation on the Green Paper closed on 5 June and we are considering the responses.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes grouped question UIN 154698 154699 question first answered 21/06/2018 13:54:37 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4082 label Biography information for Lisa Nandy

926698

	registered interest
	date	18/06/2018
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the effect of prolonged periods of time on asylum support on the integration outcomes of new refugees.
	tabling member constituency	Wigan
	tabling member printed	Lisa Nandy
	uin	154698
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2018 answer text <p>The most recent assessment of the adequacy of the asylum support rates is set out in a report published in March 2018, which can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-review-of-cash-allowance-paid-to-asylum-seekers" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-review-of-cash-allowance-paid-to-asylum-seekers</a>.</p><p>The methodology used in the assessment takes account of the views of stakeholders and has been approved by the courts as lawful. There are no plans to change the methodology, but a further review of the rates will take place later this year and stakeholders will be consulted in the normal way.</p><p>No assessment has taken place about the impact of the time people spend on asylum support on the integration of new refugees. At the point those receiving support are granted refugee status they are able to take employment or apply for mainstream benefits.</p><p>The Integrated Communities Strategy Green Paper sets out our commitment to working with civil society and other partners to increase the integration support for refugees in the United Kingdom. The consultation on the Green Paper closed on 5 June and we are considering the responses.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes grouped question UIN 154697 154699 question first answered 21/06/2018 13:54:37 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4082 label Biography information for Lisa Nandy

926699

	registered interest
	date	18/06/2018
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has to improve the methodology for calculating asylum support rates.
	tabling member constituency	Wigan
	tabling member printed	Lisa Nandy
	uin	154699
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2018 answer text <p>The most recent assessment of the adequacy of the asylum support rates is set out in a report published in March 2018, which can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-review-of-cash-allowance-paid-to-asylum-seekers" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-review-of-cash-allowance-paid-to-asylum-seekers</a>.</p><p>The methodology used in the assessment takes account of the views of stakeholders and has been approved by the courts as lawful. There are no plans to change the methodology, but a further review of the rates will take place later this year and stakeholders will be consulted in the normal way.</p><p>No assessment has taken place about the impact of the time people spend on asylum support on the integration of new refugees. At the point those receiving support are granted refugee status they are able to take employment or apply for mainstream benefits.</p><p>The Integrated Communities Strategy Green Paper sets out our commitment to working with civil society and other partners to increase the integration support for refugees in the United Kingdom. The consultation on the Green Paper closed on 5 June and we are considering the responses.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes grouped question UIN 154697 154698 question first answered 21/06/2018 13:54:37 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4082 label Biography information for Lisa Nandy

890283

	registered interest
	date	24/04/2018
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February to Question 126582 on asylum: finance, what criteria her Department uses to assess its business needs; and to which actions her Department will allocate funding in 2018.
	tabling member constituency	Manchester, Gorton
	tabling member printed	Afzal Khan
	uin	137663
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/05/2018 answer text <p>Management of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) in the UK is vested in the European Funding Team acting as the AMIF Responsible Authority (UKRA).</p><p> </p><p>The UKRA manages the funds to try and meet the objectives set out in the published AMIF National Programme, set out in Section 5 of the programme on ‘Common Indicators’. This is what the UK set out to achieve with AMIF funding over the course of the programme. The UKRA will review progress against these objectives when deciding where to focus funding, whilst still looking at funding across the programme objectives.</p><p> </p><p>AMIF has 3 Specific Objectives that the UK takes part in, Asylum, Integration and Returns. In the initial National Programme the UK agreed to fund these objectives at 20% of the allocation for each of Asylum and Integration, with 54% allocated to Returns activities. There was a slight re-prioritisation of funds from Returns to Integration as a result of a mid-term review with the European Commission, based on the larger number of refugees in the UK since the Programme was drawn up in 2013.</p><p> </p><p>For the purpose of clarity it may be useful to set out the definition of AMIF funding years, in that it operates from 16/10/n – 15/10/n+1, therefore the 2018 AMIF year will be 16/10/17 – 15/10/18.</p><p> </p><p>Currently in the UK there are 14 AMIF funded projects, 6 under the Asylum objective, 2 under Integration and 6 under Returns. All these projects are operated by the Home Office. A complete list of funded projects is published on <a href="http://www.gov.uk" target="_blank">www.gov.uk</a>, for projects up to each July.</p><p> </p><p>The UKRA currently has an ‘open call for proposals’ asking for applications for funding for projects to deal with refugee integration. The value of this call for proposals is £40m. The closing date for applications is 09/05/18, with an expectation that successful applications will be starting from 01/08/18.</p><p> </p><p>For further information the UK Responsible Authority can be contacted at: <a href="mailto:AMIFEnquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk" target="_blank">AMIFEnquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk</a></p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 08/05/2018 14:45:39 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4671 label Biography information for Afzal Khan

887261

	registered interest
	date	19/04/2018
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February to Question 126582 on asylum: finance, what plans she has to continue funding the Asylum Migration and Integration Fund after the UK leaves the EU.
	tabling member constituency	Manchester, Gorton
	tabling member printed	Afzal Khan
	uin	136825
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2018 answer text <p>The draft Withdrawal Agreement states that the UK will continue in all programmes financed by the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020 (MFF) until their closure, which includes the Asylum Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF).</p><p> </p><p>The Government will consider in due course its priorities in terms of continued participation in AMIF programmes beyond the MFF. Decisions on continued participation will be based on the UK’s best interests, including value for money for the taxpayer.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 24/04/2018 11:56:28 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4671 label Biography information for Afzal Khan

887329

	registered interest
	date	19/04/2018
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which the increase in February of the standard allowance for asylum seekers from £36.95 a week to £37.75 a week is sufficient to meet living costs.
	tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
	uin	HL7126
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/05/2018 answer text <p>The assessment is set out in a report published in March 2018, the report outlines the standard allowances for asylum seekers and for convienance the report is attached and can also be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-review-of-cash-allowance-paid-to-asylum-seekers" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-review-of-cash-allowance-paid-to-asylum-seekers</a>.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 02/05/2018 12:42:45 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford attachment 1 file name Report_on_review_of_cash_allowance_paid_to_asylum_seekers_-_2017_-_final.._-v1.pdf title Report on Review of cash allowance-asylum 2017
	tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

844018

	registered interest
	date	19/02/2018
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the merits of increasing the monthly cash allowance in line with inflation for people claiming asylum.
	tabling member constituency	Tottenham
	tabling member printed	Mr David Lammy
	uin	128377
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/02/2018 answer text <p>The cash allowance provided to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute to enable them to meet their essential living needs is reviewed each year, using a methodology that was established in 2015 and which the courts have agreed is a rational approach. The annual review takes account of inflation since the previous review.</p><p> </p><p>Following the most recent review, the allowance was raised from £36.95 per week to £37.75 per week, with the change implemented from the week beginning 5 February 2018.</p><p> </p><p>A report setting out the full detail of the review and how inflation was considered can be found at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-review-of-cash-allowance-paid-to-asylum-seekers" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-review-of-cash-allowance-paid-to-asylum-seekers</a></p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 23/02/2018 15:22:21 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	206 label Biography information for Mr David Lammy

837463

	registered interest
	date	05/02/2018
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's report, Asylum Migration and Integration Fund, List of Actions allocated funding, published in July 2017, which actions will receive funding in 2018.
	tabling member constituency	Manchester, Gorton
	tabling member printed	Afzal Khan
	uin	126582
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/02/2018 answer text <p>The report referenced was a snapshot of funding as of July 2017. Some of the actions listed will continue to be funded in 2018, and dates for the actions are shown in the report.</p><p>At present it is not possible to state precisely what actions will be funded in 2018, as this is dependent partly on business needs of the Home Office, however it is expected that more funding will be allocated to refugee integration activities during the year.</p><p>A full list of possible actions to be funded was established in the UK AMIF National Programme, agreed with the EU in March 2015, and published here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-migration-and-integration-fund-programme" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-migration-and-integration-fund-programme</a></p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 08/02/2018 15:17:14 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4671 label Biography information for Afzal Khan