Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 36
36
Accepted in Part
Develop strategy to achieve fairer asylum distribution and enhance local authority engagement and investment
Recommendation
We recommend that the Home Office set out the steps it will take to overcome barriers to the delivery of a fairer distribution of accommodation and improve engagement with local authorities on how best to address barriers to procurement. Local authorities are the experts on their areas, and the Home Office should consult them on price caps for procuring accommodation. The Home Office should work with local authorities and Strategic Migration Partnerships to understand where spending on asylum accommodation can be invested in local housing and bring benefits to local communities, such as through renovating existing housing, repurposing appropriate buildings, fixing void accommodation, or building new housing. The Home Office should ensure that the future contracts provide them with stronger levers to direct providers to procure accommodation in line with Home Office requirements. (Recommendation, Paragraph 155) 104 Pressure on local services
Government Response Summary
The Home Office states it already works with local authorities and Strategic Migration Partnerships to address procurement barriers and plans for future contracts to include stronger levers to direct providers. However, it does not specifically address consulting on price caps or investing in local housing.
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
The Home Office works with local authorities and Strategic Migration Partnerships to address barriers to procurement, and takes an evidence based and pragmatic approach. Local authorities can provide feedback and local intelligence including issues with community cohesion on every single dispersed property before it is procured. The Asylum Accommodation Plans (AAPs) mean that procurement of Dispersed Accommodation is undertaken in a fair and equitable manner that is reflective of a number of social factors such as homelessness, availability of GPs and dentists etc. Regular regional governance meetings, offer valuable forums for the Home Office, Strategic Migration Partnerships, Local authorities and Accommodation providers to collaborate and jointly monitor procurement activity and progress against the AAPs. We anticipate that future contracts will be designed to provide stronger levers to direct providers and ensure compliance with distribution targets, but all actions will be strictly aligned with available funding and agreed priorities. Activity is currently underway to inform the future procurement, including a delivery model assessment, local authority engagement to test and refine the selected delivery model, market engagement and submission of a programme business case.