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1551989

registered interest
date	15/12/2022
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Housing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of holding a summit with refugee and migration experts, local authorities and housing providers on potential short- and long-term accommodation options for people seeking asylum.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	111537
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/12/2022 answer text <p>The Home Office already engages with a range of internal and external stakeholders in relation to the provision of support and accommodation to destitute asylum seekers, through a variety of channels. These include the Strategic Migration Partnerships (SMPs) which are Local Government led partnerships funded by, but independent of, the Home Office, whose role is to coordinate and support delivery of national programmes in asylum and refugee schemes as well as agreed, national, regional and devolved migration priorities.</p><p>The Director of Asylum Support and other senior Home Office officials engage with the Local Government Association (LGA) and UK-wide LA Chief Executives through the Asylum Resettlement Councils Senior Engagement Group (ARCSEG, formerly Home Office Local Government Chief Executive group (HOLGEX)). The Strategic Engagement Groups (SEG) and the associated sub-groups are the Home Office’s (HO) principal engagement forums with external asylum and resettlement Non-Government Organisations (NGO) and voluntary sector stakeholders.</p><p>We also regularly engage with our accommodation providers to discuss any issues that arise and ensure best practise is always followed. Providers’ performance is monitored closely by dedicated staff in each contract area, who are in daily contact with them. This is supplemented by a formal governance process which includes quarterly Strategic Review Management Boards and monthly Contract Management Groups. Service credits and subsequent improvement plans are discussed and monitored as part of this process.</p> answering member constituency Newark answering member printed Robert Jenrick question first answered 22/12/2022 12:43:13 answering member 4320 label Biography information for Robert Jenrick
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

1331955

registered interest
date	10/06/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Housing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that people seeking asylum in the UK are housed in covid-19 compliant conditions.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	13851
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2021 answer text <p>The Home Office and their accommodation providers have been working with Public Health bodies throughout the pandemic to put in place a number of measures to support people in the asylum system who are affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, including working closely with providers to make sure the most vulnerable people within the system receive the support they need.</p><p>Our Initial Accommodation (IA) has been reconfigured to meet local and national health guidance. People accommodated in hostel-based accommodation receive translated guidance in relation to social distancing, potential symptoms, self-isolating and hygiene requirements. Onsite assistance and guidance are provided by support staff.</p><p>In Dispersed Accommodation, which is commonly family houses or homes of multiple occupancy accommodating small numbers, our asylum accommodation providers have put in place a range of measures and additional support to enable households to comply with public measures on social distancing and self-isolation. This has included food parcels and other items for people who are unable to leave the house, provision of telephony for those who are isolating and do not have a telephone, as well as increased welfare contact for those who are isolating. Additionally, service user essential living needs -including for cleaning and sanitary items - are met through a weekly cash allowance.</p><p>All asylum seekers in our accommodation have access to our Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility (AIRE) service provider, Migrant Help. They can contact Migrant Help 24 hours a day if they need assistance or guidance on COVID-19 or other issues – including reporting any concerns with accommodation.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 18/06/2021 11:57:02 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

1307816

registered interest
date	12/04/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Housing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure the adequacy of accommodation for asylum seekers.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	178810
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/04/2021 answer text <p>We expect the highest standards from our providers, who are expected to conduct regular checks across the accommodation estate. The Home Office have access to providers’ systems to monitor compliance.</p><p>The Asylum Accommodation and Support Services contracts (AASC) have a robust performance management system, against which providers are expected to deliver.</p><p>This is supplemented by a formal governance process which includes quarterly Strategic Review Management Boards and monthly Contract Management Groups. Service credits and subsequent improvement plans are discussed and monitored as part of this process. Service Delivery Managers speak daily with providers about service delivery and performance.</p><p>In response to the global pandemic, officials also have formal meetings on a weekly basis to ensure individuals are housed safely, services are delivered in line with their contractual obligations and adherence to guidance from Public Health England (PHE) is followed.</p><p>Asylum seekers can also raise specific issues or concerns about their accommodation through the 24/7 Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility (AIRE) service operated by Migrant Help. The Home Office and our providers receive feedback on complaints raised through our regular dialogue with Migrant Help, which enables attention to be focussed on particular areas of concern.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 20/04/2021 16:13:12 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

1199000

registered interest
date	01/06/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Housing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure the adequate provision of self-contained accommodation for asylum seekers to enable effective social distancing.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	51582
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/06/2020 answer text <p>We are carefully following PHE Guidance which recommends that separate rooms should be provided for symptomatic people, or they should be moved to hotels.  Those with underlying health conditions and people over 70 years of age should also be moved to the appropriate hotel accommodation following PHE guidance, unless individuals do not wish to be moved.  We are reviewing each case on an individual basis and continue to work with our providers to ensure the guidance is followed.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 09/06/2020 12:59:07 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

1188464

registered interest
date	20/04/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Housing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that asylum seeker accommodation adheres to social distancing measures introduced during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	37450
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/05/2020 answer text <p>The Home Office has been working with a Public Health England embed during the current crisis and we have put in place a number of measures to support people in the asylum system who are affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, including working closely with providers to make sure the most vulnerable people within the system receive the support they need. There are currently no cases of Covid-19 in the immigration detention estate</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 26/05/2020 13:57:40 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

810072

registered interest
date	20/12/2017
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Housing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that accommodation for asylum seekers under contract with Compass is safe and quality checked.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	120538
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/01/2018 answer text <p>Accommodation providers are required to provide safe, habitable, fit for purpose and correctly equipped accommodation that complies with the Decent Homes Standard in addition to standards outlined in relevant national or local housing legislation.</p><p><br>The contract requires Providers to visit and inspect each property every month and UKVI inspects a significant proportion of properties each year to ensure standards are being met. Where asylum accommodation is found to be falling short of the required standards UKVI has procedures in place to inspect, investigate and quickly resolve when specific information is received and a contract management regime to monitor supplier performance and take measures where appropriate.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 10/01/2018 14:34:43 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

809660

registered interest
date	19/12/2017
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Housing
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 ensure that future asylum accommodation contracts work to ensure the long-term sustainability of the dispersal system through co-operative working with local authorities and communities.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	120280
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/12/2017 answer text <p>The Home Office is committed to working co-operatively with local authorities and communities to ensure the sustainability of asylum accommodation contracts.</p><p>Since September 2016 the Home Office has actively engaged with local authorities with a wide range of stakeholders across local government, statutory and third sector as part of the development of the new asylum accommodation contracts and the information obtained through this process has influenced the design of the future service provision. We will continue to engage with local authorities and the wider community throughout the procurement and implementation of the new contracts.</p> answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis question first answered 21/12/2017 16:40:27 answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman