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1313138

registered interest
date	11/05/2021
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 people will receive new ASPEN cards as part of the contract transition; and how many will be without access to any funds for themselves and family members during the weekend blackout window during that transition.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
uin	427
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2021 answer text <p>Since January the project team has collaborated with voluntary sector partners through existing and well-established channels such as Strategic Migration Partnerships (SMPs) and the National Asylum Stakeholder Forum (NASF). The team have built close links with the SMP and attends quarterly forums with NASF to provide updates on project progress, taking and answering questions.</p><p>Early this month, an ASPEN transition update, Q&amp;A session and workshop was held with NASF attendees.</p><p>As well as verbal engagement with the voluntary sector, the ASPEN project team has been committed to keeping third sector partners informed of progress via email. Regular written updates, information packs and all service user communication outputs have been shared with voluntary partners.</p><p>The project team has an open communication channel with all stakeholders via a specific project team e-mail inbox. Voluntary sector partners have been encouraged to submit any queries or questions relating to the ASPEN transition to the project inbox, which a project team member will monitor every day and provide responses to.</p><p>c43,000 new payment cards have been dispatched to date. Comprehensive, translated advice has accompanied the cards including guidance in relation to the transition over the weekend of 21<sup>st</sup> May- 23<sup>rd</sup> May.</p><p>Longstanding arrangements for the provision of Emergency Cash Payments (ECPs) will not be affected by the period of transition and will remain available throughout. We have also planned to manage any increased need for ECPs should this be required.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 428 question first answered 17/05/2021 15:39:16 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1313139

registered interest
date	11/05/2021
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 discussions her Department has had with voluntary sector organisations on the ASPEN card transition for asylum support payments.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
uin	428
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2021 answer text <p>Since January the project team has collaborated with voluntary sector partners through existing and well-established channels such as Strategic Migration Partnerships (SMPs) and the National Asylum Stakeholder Forum (NASF). The team have built close links with the SMP and attends quarterly forums with NASF to provide updates on project progress, taking and answering questions.</p><p>Early this month, an ASPEN transition update, Q&amp;A session and workshop was held with NASF attendees.</p><p>As well as verbal engagement with the voluntary sector, the ASPEN project team has been committed to keeping third sector partners informed of progress via email. Regular written updates, information packs and all service user communication outputs have been shared with voluntary partners.</p><p>The project team has an open communication channel with all stakeholders via a specific project team e-mail inbox. Voluntary sector partners have been encouraged to submit any queries or questions relating to the ASPEN transition to the project inbox, which a project team member will monitor every day and provide responses to.</p><p>c43,000 new payment cards have been dispatched to date. Comprehensive, translated advice has accompanied the cards including guidance in relation to the transition over the weekend of 21<sup>st</sup> May- 23<sup>rd</sup> May.</p><p>Longstanding arrangements for the provision of Emergency Cash Payments (ECPs) will not be affected by the period of transition and will remain available throughout. We have also planned to manage any increased need for ECPs should this be required.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 427 question first answered 17/05/2021 15:39:16 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1313360

registered interest
date	11/05/2021
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 her Department has made of the ability of people in receipt of asylum support to access funds during the three days within the ASPEN card transition.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	232
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2021 answer text <p>A necessary period of disruption to the outgoing provider’s service from 5pm on Friday 21st May 2021 is required to enable the process of transferring card balances to the new provider ready for use on Monday 24th May 2021 at 9am. Throughout this period of service disruption over this weekend, service users will be unable to use their ASPEN card.</p><p>c43,000 new payment cards have been dispatched to date. Comprehensive, translated advice has accompanied the cards including guidance in relation to the weekend of 21<sup>st</sup> May. To prepare for this period of service disruption, we have advised service users to withdraw funds or make purchases needed for the weekend prior to its commencement.</p><p>We have been communicating with service users directly, indirectly via our strategic delivery partners and numerous stakeholder representatives to alert them of the forthcoming period of disruption. We are also working with the voluntary sector to minimise disruption to the people we support during the period of service disruption.</p><p>Longstanding arrangements for the provision of Emergency Cash Payments (ECPs) will not be affected by the period of transition and will remain available throughout. We have also planned to manage any increased need for ECPs should this be required.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 233 question first answered 17/05/2021 15:46:52 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1313371

registered interest
date	11/05/2021
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 her Department has made of the availability and accessibility of voluntary sector organisations and foodbanks to people in receipt of asylum support during the ASPEN card transition period.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	233
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2021 answer text <p>A necessary period of disruption to the outgoing provider’s service from 5pm on Friday 21st May 2021 is required to enable the process of transferring card balances to the new provider ready for use on Monday 24th May 2021 at 9am. Throughout this period of service disruption over this weekend, service users will be unable to use their ASPEN card.</p><p>c43,000 new payment cards have been dispatched to date. Comprehensive, translated advice has accompanied the cards including guidance in relation to the weekend of 21<sup>st</sup> May. To prepare for this period of service disruption, we have advised service users to withdraw funds or make purchases needed for the weekend prior to its commencement.</p><p>We have been communicating with service users directly, indirectly via our strategic delivery partners and numerous stakeholder representatives to alert them of the forthcoming period of disruption. We are also working with the voluntary sector to minimise disruption to the people we support during the period of service disruption.</p><p>Longstanding arrangements for the provision of Emergency Cash Payments (ECPs) will not be affected by the period of transition and will remain available throughout. We have also planned to manage any increased need for ECPs should this be required.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 232 question first answered 17/05/2021 15:46:52 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1313826

registered interest
date	12/05/2021
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 potential merits of matching the £20 universal credit uplift for people seeking the asylum support allowance.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
uin	883
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2021 answer text <p>Asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute are provided with furnished accommodation with utilities provided free of charge and a weekly cash allowance. The level of the allowance is reviewed each year to ensure it remains sufficient to meet their essential living needs (the legal test). Currently, the standard allowance is £39.63 per week for the asylum seeker and each of any dependants in their household. The allowance is reduced if the individual is accommodated in a full-board facility where food and other essential items are provided free.</p><p>There are no plans to provide an additional £20 or to link the level of the allowance with the level of Universal Credit. Those receiving Universal Credit generally incur expenses asylum seekers are not required to meet, including paying for utilities and travel and other expenses incurred in looking for work.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 17/05/2021 16:36:43 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1317105

registered interest
date	21/05/2021
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 21 May 2021 to Question 725 on asylum: housing, how the budget for weekly support payment for an asylum seeker is calculated; and how much is expected to be allocated to (a) food, (b) transport, (c) clothing and (d) cleaning products.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	5193
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/05/2021 answer text <p>The level of the cash allowance provided to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute in order to meet their essential living needs (the legal test) is reviewed annually, using a methodology in place since 2014 and which has been judged by the Court of Appeal to be rational and lawful.</p><p>The basic approach is to determine all essential needs and assess the amount of money the average asylum seeker needs to meet each of them. Those with needs over and above the level of the average person can apply for additional funds exceptionally.</p><p>Further detail about the methodology can be found in the reports published at:</p><p><a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-review-of-cash-allowance-paid-to-asylum-seekers" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-review-of-cash-allowance-paid-to-asylum-seekers</a></p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 26/05/2021 11:27:45 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1329679

registered interest
date	04/06/2021
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 her Department has made of the (a) adequacy and (b) effectiveness of the operation of ASPEN cards; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Linlithgow and East Falkirk
tabling member printed	Martyn Day
uin	10514
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/06/2021 answer text <p>The PrePaid Financial Services (PFS) solution is a well-established Mastercard pre-paid card used by organisations across the UK as well as abroad and has undergone over 5 months of rigorous testing to integrate with Home Office systems.</p><p>Service users were notified of the transition in advance and a significant majority of service users have received their Aspen card and successfully activated them.</p><p>The service is functioning as expected. The cards are working, withdrawals and purchases are being made and the automated IVR activation line is operating well.</p><p>Transitions of this nature are complex, and plans to mitigate anticipated issues were, and remain, in place. Cash payments were made available in emergencies. We will continue to work with the remainder of service users to activate their cards and ensure they are supported throughout.</p><p>Our main focus is to ensure all remaining service users have an activated card so the new service can be accessed and support payments received. As part of our management of service contracts continuous improvement assessments will be factored in throughout the contract term and implemented accordingly.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 14/06/2021 15:51:31 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4488 label Biography information for Martyn Day

1329779

registered interest
date	04/06/2021
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 estimate her Department has made of the number of asylum seekers who have (a) not received new Aspen cards and (b) experienced problems activating or using the new Aspen cards; and how many of those affected were (i) pregnant, (ii) children and (iii) disabled.
tabling member constituency	Dulwich and West Norwood
tabling member printed	Helen Hayes
uin	10538
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/06/2021 answer text <p>Service Users were notified of the transition to the new Aspen cards well in advance of the transition and a significant majority of service users have now successfully received and activated their new card. For those who are not in receipt of an activated card and for any service user who required an emergency cash payment, funds were issued to cover the period until a new card arrives and / or it is successfully activated.</p><p>Additionally, accommodation providers are conducting welfare checks in which they will ensure those eligible for asylum support payments have received their new card and they understand how to activate it. We will continue to share data with our providers to ensure they prioritise the appropriate welfare/safeguarding checks.</p><p>Prepaid Financial Services (PFS) continue to support the Home Office in rolling out new ASPEN cards to asylum accommodation addresses. They have recently amended processes to ensure service users have increased opportunities to activate cards or avoid card cancellations. They have also agreed to facilitate bulk issue of cards to accommodation blocks to ensure activation for particular user groups.</p><p>Prepaid Financial Services (PFS) were awarded the contract for a new prepaid card service following an open and competitive tendering process which included due diligence checks. The Home Office utilised a Crown Commercial Services (CCS) Framework with 4 suppliers to conduct the tendering exercise and in total, three suppliers on the Framework (including Prepaid Financial Services) made a bid for the Support Payments Card (SPC) contract.</p><p>The Prepaid Financial Services (PFS) solution is a well-established Mastercard pre-paid card used by organisations across the UK as well as abroad in schemes involving refugees and vulnerable persons. The Home Office systems underwent 5 months of rigorous testing to integrate with Home Office systems incorporating technical and operational scenarios.</p><p>The programme utilised a number of data sources and the operation is managing implementation through internal databases therefore we do not currently have the people we support broken down by a particular category. Whilst, we are satisfied the majority have activated cards, we continue to provide direct access to the Home Office for local authorities via Strategic Migration Partnerships and third sector partners to ensure payments to those with vulnerabilities are prioritised.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 10539 10540 10541 10542 question first answered 14/06/2021 15:46:51 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4510 label Biography information for Helen Hayes

1329780

registered interest
date	04/06/2021
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 piloting or testing of the new Aspen Card her Department undertook prior to its roll out on 24 May 2021.
tabling member constituency	Dulwich and West Norwood
tabling member printed	Helen Hayes
uin	10539
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/06/2021 answer text <p>Service Users were notified of the transition to the new Aspen cards well in advance of the transition and a significant majority of service users have now successfully received and activated their new card. For those who are not in receipt of an activated card and for any service user who required an emergency cash payment, funds were issued to cover the period until a new card arrives and / or it is successfully activated.</p><p>Additionally, accommodation providers are conducting welfare checks in which they will ensure those eligible for asylum support payments have received their new card and they understand how to activate it. We will continue to share data with our providers to ensure they prioritise the appropriate welfare/safeguarding checks.</p><p>Prepaid Financial Services (PFS) continue to support the Home Office in rolling out new ASPEN cards to asylum accommodation addresses. They have recently amended processes to ensure service users have increased opportunities to activate cards or avoid card cancellations. They have also agreed to facilitate bulk issue of cards to accommodation blocks to ensure activation for particular user groups.</p><p>Prepaid Financial Services (PFS) were awarded the contract for a new prepaid card service following an open and competitive tendering process which included due diligence checks. The Home Office utilised a Crown Commercial Services (CCS) Framework with 4 suppliers to conduct the tendering exercise and in total, three suppliers on the Framework (including Prepaid Financial Services) made a bid for the Support Payments Card (SPC) contract.</p><p>The Prepaid Financial Services (PFS) solution is a well-established Mastercard pre-paid card used by organisations across the UK as well as abroad in schemes involving refugees and vulnerable persons. The Home Office systems underwent 5 months of rigorous testing to integrate with Home Office systems incorporating technical and operational scenarios.</p><p>The programme utilised a number of data sources and the operation is managing implementation through internal databases therefore we do not currently have the people we support broken down by a particular category. Whilst, we are satisfied the majority have activated cards, we continue to provide direct access to the Home Office for local authorities via Strategic Migration Partnerships and third sector partners to ensure payments to those with vulnerabilities are prioritised.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 10538 10540 10541 10542 question first answered 14/06/2021 15:46:51 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4510 label Biography information for Helen Hayes

1329781

registered interest
date	04/06/2021
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 due diligence checks her Department carried out on Prepaid Financial Services prior to the award of the Aspen card contract; and how many other applicants there were for that contract.
tabling member constituency	Dulwich and West Norwood
tabling member printed	Helen Hayes
uin	10540
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/06/2021 answer text <p>Service Users were notified of the transition to the new Aspen cards well in advance of the transition and a significant majority of service users have now successfully received and activated their new card. For those who are not in receipt of an activated card and for any service user who required an emergency cash payment, funds were issued to cover the period until a new card arrives and / or it is successfully activated.</p><p>Additionally, accommodation providers are conducting welfare checks in which they will ensure those eligible for asylum support payments have received their new card and they understand how to activate it. We will continue to share data with our providers to ensure they prioritise the appropriate welfare/safeguarding checks.</p><p>Prepaid Financial Services (PFS) continue to support the Home Office in rolling out new ASPEN cards to asylum accommodation addresses. They have recently amended processes to ensure service users have increased opportunities to activate cards or avoid card cancellations. They have also agreed to facilitate bulk issue of cards to accommodation blocks to ensure activation for particular user groups.</p><p>Prepaid Financial Services (PFS) were awarded the contract for a new prepaid card service following an open and competitive tendering process which included due diligence checks. The Home Office utilised a Crown Commercial Services (CCS) Framework with 4 suppliers to conduct the tendering exercise and in total, three suppliers on the Framework (including Prepaid Financial Services) made a bid for the Support Payments Card (SPC) contract.</p><p>The Prepaid Financial Services (PFS) solution is a well-established Mastercard pre-paid card used by organisations across the UK as well as abroad in schemes involving refugees and vulnerable persons. The Home Office systems underwent 5 months of rigorous testing to integrate with Home Office systems incorporating technical and operational scenarios.</p><p>The programme utilised a number of data sources and the operation is managing implementation through internal databases therefore we do not currently have the people we support broken down by a particular category. Whilst, we are satisfied the majority have activated cards, we continue to provide direct access to the Home Office for local authorities via Strategic Migration Partnerships and third sector partners to ensure payments to those with vulnerabilities are prioritised.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 10538 10539 10541 10542 question first answered 14/06/2021 15:46:51 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4510 label Biography information for Helen Hayes