Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 18
18
Deferred
Ensure future profit share clauses account for cash value of profits, not just margins.
Conclusion
The Home Office should ensure that profit share clauses in future contracts take account of not just profit margins but also the cash value of profits, so that contract providers cannot benefit so substantially from increased demand for and changes to the type and/or base costs of asylum accommodation. (Recommendation, Paragraph 73) Standards of accommodation and support Adequacy of accommodation
Government Response Summary
The government deflects the recommendation to ensure future contracts include profit share clauses that account for the cash value of profits, by discussing its engagement with local authorities and communities regarding asylum accommodation and efforts to combat misinformation.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
The Home Office undertakes engagement at various levels of seniority across government, with local authorities, and other statutory partners concerning asylum accommodation in local authority areas. For dispersed accommodation, the Home Office meets with local authorities from every region in England monthly and provides comprehensive data concerning the current and future dispersed accommodation estate. In addition, local authorities, and if they wish, local police, are consulted on every single dispersed accommodation property before it is procured. We are committed to improving and prioritising communication with local communities about the use of asylum accommodation and ensuring that legitimate concerns are addressed while misinformation is challenged. This work is being taken forward in collaboration with other government departments, devolved governments, local authorities, local police, and community groups. Our approach includes developing clear and consistent messaging on why accommodation is required, how decisions are made, and what measures are in place to safeguard local communities as well as asylum seekers. We are strengthening engagement channels to ensure concerns raised by residents and local representatives are acknowledged and acted upon, and that accurate information is provided promptly to counter misinformation. This will form part of a wider programme to build trust, improve transparency, and support community cohesion. A trial involving six police forces across England is also under way to identify the most agile and effective ways of working with policing partners on misinformation, disinformation and malicious content. Alongside this, further work is taking place with a wider group of 17 police forces across the UK, including forces in Wales and Scotland, to establish and test new ways of working on information sharing, community reassurance and tackling misinformation. The Home Office’s Strategy