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<p>The Home Office has no power to hold children or adults in contingency hotels if
they wish to leave. To minimise the risk of a child going missing, records of minors
leaving and returning to the hotel are kept and monitored. Support workers accompany
children off site on activities and social excursions, or where specific vulnerabilities
are identified.</p><p>All asylum seekers<em>, </em>including under 18s, have an interview
on arrival in the UK which includes a series of questions specifically designed to
understand whether there are any potential indicators of trafficking. A referral is
made to the National Referral Mechanism if indicators are noted. In the case of children,
a safety plan is put in place by social services, whilst adults identified as potential
victims of modern slavery are entitled to care and support provided by the Salvation
Army. The Home Office and its accommodation providers have robust processes in place
to ensure that where someone is at risk, they are referred to the appropriate statutory
agencies of the police, NHS and social services, to promote appropriate safeguarding
interventions. All contingency sites have security staff and providers liaise closely
with local police to ensure the welfare and safety of vulnerable residents.</p><p>The
safety and wellbeing of asylum seekers in our care is of paramount importance to the
Home Office. We expect high standards from all of our providers, and we have a robust
governance framework in place to manage service delivery of the Asylum Accommodation
Support Contracts (AASC). Details of the AASC can be found at: <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fnews%2Fnew-asylum-accommodation-contracts-awarded&data=05%7C01%7CJordan.Kelly27%40homeoffice.gov.uk%7C935dbaf5b55f41dceb5608da22bd67c4%7Cf24d93ecb2914192a08af182245945c2%7C0%7C0%7C637860494119143762%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=WluEj72k%2F6SzJiik%2BuvC3nZT6amXX7KspxfefWLcJpk%3D&reserved=0"
target="_blank">New asylum accommodation contracts awarded - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens
in a new tab)</a>.</p><p> </p>
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