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1342449

registered interest
date	30/06/2021
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 she has made of the number of asylum seekers in the asylum support system who do not have (a) a new or (b) functioning payment card that would allow them to access financial support.
tabling member constituency	Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East
tabling member printed	Stuart C McDonald
uin	24997
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/07/2021 answer text <p>Fully functioning Aspen cards, including translated instructions on how to activate them, were distributed to all service users via first class post prior to the transition date of 24 May. The majority of eligible card holders had completed this activation process by 24 May and have had access to funds via their card. However, some card holders had yet to successfully activate their card by this date. We continue to work with strategic delivery partners to ensure all cards are successfully received and activated with targeted assistance.</p><p>Emergency cash payments (ECPs) are a longstanding operational contingency provision which has been in place for several years. The position on ECPs has not changed, and they have been used to support service users who had issues with their Aspen card over the transition period.</p><p>The only element which has changed during the service transition is the value of payments (increasing from £20 to £40 per week) and the fact accommodation providers can now self-authorise Emergency Cash Payments to expedite requests. Emergency Cash Payments will continue to be provided to service users who have not yet activated their new Aspen card.</p><p>The Home Office is in regular dialogue with Charites and third sector partners about the support they provide to service users.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 24998 24999 question first answered 05/07/2021 15:50:47 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4393 label Biography information for Stuart C McDonald

1342451

registered interest
date	30/06/2021
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 her policy is on asylum seekers in receipt of emergency payments following the transition to a new asylum support payment card.
tabling member constituency	Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East
tabling member printed	Stuart C McDonald
uin	24998
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/07/2021 answer text <p>Fully functioning Aspen cards, including translated instructions on how to activate them, were distributed to all service users via first class post prior to the transition date of 24 May. The majority of eligible card holders had completed this activation process by 24 May and have had access to funds via their card. However, some card holders had yet to successfully activate their card by this date. We continue to work with strategic delivery partners to ensure all cards are successfully received and activated with targeted assistance.</p><p>Emergency cash payments (ECPs) are a longstanding operational contingency provision which has been in place for several years. The position on ECPs has not changed, and they have been used to support service users who had issues with their Aspen card over the transition period.</p><p>The only element which has changed during the service transition is the value of payments (increasing from £20 to £40 per week) and the fact accommodation providers can now self-authorise Emergency Cash Payments to expedite requests. Emergency Cash Payments will continue to be provided to service users who have not yet activated their new Aspen card.</p><p>The Home Office is in regular dialogue with Charites and third sector partners about the support they provide to service users.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 24997 24999 question first answered 05/07/2021 15:50:47 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4393 label Biography information for Stuart C McDonald

1342453

registered interest
date	30/06/2021
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, whether she has plans to compensate charities that have provided emergency funds and food to people who have not had access to asylum support following the transition to a new payment card from May 2021.
tabling member constituency	Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East
tabling member printed	Stuart C McDonald
uin	24999
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/07/2021 answer text <p>Fully functioning Aspen cards, including translated instructions on how to activate them, were distributed to all service users via first class post prior to the transition date of 24 May. The majority of eligible card holders had completed this activation process by 24 May and have had access to funds via their card. However, some card holders had yet to successfully activate their card by this date. We continue to work with strategic delivery partners to ensure all cards are successfully received and activated with targeted assistance.</p><p>Emergency cash payments (ECPs) are a longstanding operational contingency provision which has been in place for several years. The position on ECPs has not changed, and they have been used to support service users who had issues with their Aspen card over the transition period.</p><p>The only element which has changed during the service transition is the value of payments (increasing from £20 to £40 per week) and the fact accommodation providers can now self-authorise Emergency Cash Payments to expedite requests. Emergency Cash Payments will continue to be provided to service users who have not yet activated their new Aspen card.</p><p>The Home Office is in regular dialogue with Charites and third sector partners about the support they provide to service users.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 24997 24998 question first answered 05/07/2021 15:50:48 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4393 label Biography information for Stuart C McDonald

1338327

registered interest
date	21/06/2021
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made with resolving issues with the Aspen Card.
tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
uin	HL1263
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/07/2021 answer text <p>Fully functioning and tested Aspen cards have been distributed to all service users. The vast majority have activated it and have been using it successfully since the service went live on Monday 24th May 2021.</p><p>Where replacement cards have been requested, they are being actioned swiftly and are being dispatched to service users accordingly.</p><p>Those experiencing issues with their Aspen card were, and still are, entitled to Emergency Cash Payments (ECPs) if in need. Due to this, all support-entitled asylum seekers were able to receive their benefits, either through an Aspen card or cash payments.</p><p>The vast majority of service users have now received and activated their new Aspen card since the service went live on Monday 24th May 2021. These cards are working and being used successfully to make purchases or withdraw funds (dependent on asylum seeker support type).</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford grouped question UIN HL1264 question first answered 05/07/2021 16:24:16 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

1338328

registered interest
date	21/06/2021
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many asylum seekers were unable to receive their benefits due to recent issues with the Aspen Card.
tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
uin	HL1264
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/07/2021 answer text <p>Fully functioning and tested Aspen cards have been distributed to all service users. The vast majority have activated it and have been using it successfully since the service went live on Monday 24th May 2021.</p><p>Where replacement cards have been requested, they are being actioned swiftly and are being dispatched to service users accordingly.</p><p>Those experiencing issues with their Aspen card were, and still are, entitled to Emergency Cash Payments (ECPs) if in need. Due to this, all support-entitled asylum seekers were able to receive their benefits, either through an Aspen card or cash payments.</p><p>The vast majority of service users have now received and activated their new Aspen card since the service went live on Monday 24th May 2021. These cards are working and being used successfully to make purchases or withdraw funds (dependent on asylum seeker support type).</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford grouped question UIN HL1263 question first answered 05/07/2021 16:24:16 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

1338329

registered interest
date	21/06/2021
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many asylum seekers are currently dependent on support from the UK Government.
tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
uin	HL1265
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/07/2021 answer text <p>The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of asylum seekers supported by the UK Government.</p><p>These statistics are published on a quarterly basis, with the latest information published 27 May 2021 and can be found at: (please see attached table)</p><p>https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets#asylum-support</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 05/07/2021 16:56:36 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford attachment 1 file name asylum-applications-datasets-mar-2021 (1).xlsx title Asylum and Resettlement Data Sets
tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

1338528

registered interest
date	21/06/2021
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 assessment she has made of the consistency across the UK of the provision of emergency cash payments by accommodation providers to asylum seekers during the transition of the Aspen card contract.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
uin	19665
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2021 answer text <p>Emergency cash payments (ECPs) are a longstanding operational contingency provision in place for several years.</p><p>ECPs have been used to support service users who had issues with their Aspen card over the transition period. All accommodation providers have been instructed to ensure ECPs are provided to those in critical need of support during this period. Their use has been further adapted to meet the demand and remove barriers to authorisation which allow swift deployment.</p><p>Those who have issues or are unsure how they can activate their cards are able to contact the 24/7 Migrant Help helpline. There was an initial spike in relation to the volume of calls during the first week after going live, however the number of calls to Migrant Help has since reduced. Migrant Help also maintained the availability of their webchat and the Raise and Issue communication channels.</p><p>Migrant Help increased staffing numbers to support service users in the weeks ahead of the new service going live and thereafter during the transition. Additionally, during the transition to the new payment provider, there was an out of hours operational team working alongside Migrant Help to ensure ECPs could be provided to those who required a payment. Migrant Help continue to be the first point of contact to support service users in relation to any issues faced regarding asylum support.</p><p>Fully functioning Aspen cards, including translated instructions on how to activate them, were distributed to all service users via first class post prior to the transition date of 24 May. The majority of eligible card holders had completed this activation process by 24 May and have had access to funds via their card.</p><p>However, some card holders had yet to successfully activate their card by this date. As part of the transition of services we are working with our new card service supplier PFS to enhance data and understand the reasons behind the residual cards which are yet to be activated.</p><p>In addition, our accommodation and advice service providers are working closely to target support to all such service users to encourage and assist with those who are still yet to activate their cards. This includes ensuring subsistence support remains available through access to Emergency Cash Payments where appropriate and replacement cards are issued where delivery problems are reported to us.</p><p>It is not currently possible therefore to provide an accurate breakdown of the reasons some cards have not been activated or what proportion of this is due to a delivery issue.</p><p>Our latest available management information suggests the following approximations for the activation of cards:</p><ul><li>As of 28/05 – approximately 73% of service users has activated their card</li><li>As of 04/06 – this figure rose to approximately 83%</li><li>As of 22/06 –over 93% of service users had activated their new Aspen card<br></li></ul><p>It should be noted these figures have been taken from a live operational database and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.</p><p>We continue to work with strategic delivery partners to ensure all cards are successfully received and activated with the appropriate service users being targeted for assistance.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 19666 19667 question first answered 25/06/2021 12:21:40 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster previous answer version 9166 answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp answering member 4503
tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1338529

registered interest
date	21/06/2021
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 she has made of the number of people who were entitled to receive asylum support that did not have a functioning Aspen card on (a) Monday 24 May, (b) Friday 28 May and (c) Friday 4 June 2021.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
uin	19666
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2021 answer text <p>Emergency cash payments (ECPs) are a longstanding operational contingency provision in place for several years.</p><p>ECPs have been used to support service users who had issues with their Aspen card over the transition period. All accommodation providers have been instructed to ensure ECPs are provided to those in critical need of support during this period. Their use has been further adapted to meet the demand and remove barriers to authorisation which allow swift deployment.</p><p>Those who have issues or are unsure how they can activate their cards are able to contact the 24/7 Migrant Help helpline. There was an initial spike in relation to the volume of calls during the first week after going live, however the number of calls to Migrant Help has since reduced. Migrant Help also maintained the availability of their webchat and the Raise and Issue communication channels.</p><p>Migrant Help increased staffing numbers to support service users in the weeks ahead of the new service going live and thereafter during the transition. Additionally, during the transition to the new payment provider, there was an out of hours operational team working alongside Migrant Help to ensure ECPs could be provided to those who required a payment. Migrant Help continue to be the first point of contact to support service users in relation to any issues faced regarding asylum support.</p><p>Fully functioning Aspen cards, including translated instructions on how to activate them, were distributed to all service users via first class post prior to the transition date of 24 May. The majority of eligible card holders had completed this activation process by 24 May and have had access to funds via their card.</p><p>However, some card holders had yet to successfully activate their card by this date. As part of the transition of services we are working with our new card service supplier PFS to enhance data and understand the reasons behind the residual cards which are yet to be activated.</p><p>In addition, our accommodation and advice service providers are working closely to target support to all such service users to encourage and assist with those who are still yet to activate their cards. This includes ensuring subsistence support remains available through access to Emergency Cash Payments where appropriate and replacement cards are issued where delivery problems are reported to us.</p><p>It is not currently possible therefore to provide an accurate breakdown of the reasons some cards have not been activated or what proportion of this is due to a delivery issue.</p><p>Our latest available management information suggests the following approximations for the activation of cards:</p><ul><li>As of 28/05 – approximately 73% of service users has activated their card</li><li>As of 04/06 – this figure rose to approximately 83%</li><li>As of 22/06 –over 93% of service users had activated their new Aspen card<br></li></ul><p>It should be noted these figures have been taken from a live operational database and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.</p><p>We continue to work with strategic delivery partners to ensure all cards are successfully received and activated with the appropriate service users being targeted for assistance.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 19665 19667 question first answered 25/06/2021 12:21:40 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster previous answer version 9167 answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp answering member 4503
tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1337963

registered interest
date	17/06/2021
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 risk assessments were made ahead of her Department's change of contractor for the provision of Aspen cards.
tabling member constituency	Newport East
tabling member printed	Jessica Morden
uin	17701
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2021 answer text <p>All Home Office projects, including the delivery of the new contract providing asylum support payments, have robust risk management mechanisms and practices in place. Engagement with our strategic delivery partners, accommodation providers and Migrant Help-including the consideration of risks-took place well in advance of the project rollout/go-live.</p><p>This will continue through an already-established service delivery management process which ensures ongoing risks are understood and appropriately managed across the many different provisions which support the asylum-seeking population.</p><p>The number of people eligible for asylum support; as well as the card activation rate; is a fluid and fluctuating figure. They change on a daily basis due to new service users entering the system, the provision of support and card activation numbers in particular increasing over time.</p><p>Fully functioning and tested Aspen cards have been distributed to all service users. The vast majority have activated it and have been using it successfully since the service went live on Monday 24<sup>th</sup> May 2021. Where replacement cards have been requested, they are being actioned swiftly and are being dispatched to service users accordingly.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 17702 question first answered 22/06/2021 15:06:48 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	1548 label Biography information for Jessica Morden

1337967

registered interest
date	17/06/2021
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, how many people have waited over four weeks for access to a working Aspen card from the date of their application in (a) the UK, (b) Wales and (c) Newport East in 2021.
tabling member constituency	Newport East
tabling member printed	Jessica Morden
uin	17702
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2021 answer text <p>All Home Office projects, including the delivery of the new contract providing asylum support payments, have robust risk management mechanisms and practices in place. Engagement with our strategic delivery partners, accommodation providers and Migrant Help-including the consideration of risks-took place well in advance of the project rollout/go-live.</p><p>This will continue through an already-established service delivery management process which ensures ongoing risks are understood and appropriately managed across the many different provisions which support the asylum-seeking population.</p><p>The number of people eligible for asylum support; as well as the card activation rate; is a fluid and fluctuating figure. They change on a daily basis due to new service users entering the system, the provision of support and card activation numbers in particular increasing over time.</p><p>Fully functioning and tested Aspen cards have been distributed to all service users. The vast majority have activated it and have been using it successfully since the service went live on Monday 24<sup>th</sup> May 2021. Where replacement cards have been requested, they are being actioned swiftly and are being dispatched to service users accordingly.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 17701 question first answered 22/06/2021 15:06:48 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	1548 label Biography information for Jessica Morden