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Written question asked by Bishop of Durham (Bishops (affiliation)) on Wednesday, 14 April 2021, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 28 April 2021. It was answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford (Conservative) on Wednesday, 28 April 2021 on behalf of the Home Office.

Asylum: Temporary Accommodation

Question

To ask Her Majesty's Government what requirements they have established with Migrant Help (1) to log and record every call made to the service by asylum seekers in contingency accommodation, and (2) to set a target time for responding to issues raised in these calls, as part of its contracts with that charity; and what assessment they have made of whether Migrant Help is fulfilling any such requirements in carrying out such contracts.

Answer

Migrant Help provide a helpline available to asylum seekers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, service levels for the services they provide can be found in their contract at https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/028be8bb-3c69-494d-bfdd-59c2e1b34379?p=@UFQxUlRRPT0=NjJNT08=. Migrant Help performance is monitored during monthly Contract Management Groups and quarterly Strategic Relationship Management Boards.

Details of the accommodation requirements can be found online at www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk. A link to the contract for the North East, Yorkshire & Humber region is at https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/24c6a868-8e1a-4775-8d4f-ab750854d367

We do not publish data on the number of asylum seekers living in contingency accommodation. However, when a family is accommodated at a hotel, they are prioritised for dispersal to ensure the children can settle in more permanent accommodation and attend school.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL14915
Session
2019-21
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Contracts Asylum Standards Temporary accommodation Telephone services Migrant Help
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk