Fourth Report: Home Office preparedness for COVID-19 (Coronavirus): institutional accommodation

The government rejects the recommendation to end room sharing for unrelated adults, stating that existing contractual criteria prohibit it for vulnerable persons and that further restrictions would not assist providers.

The government rejects the recommendation to phase out room sharing for unrelated adults, stating there are no plans for contractual changes and they do not agree further restrictions would assist providers in securing accommodation.

The government rejects the committee's assertion that it encouraged vulnerable people to access public Wi-Fi, stating such information was part of general induction and that Wi-Fi or SIM cards are provided in initial accommodation and hotels.

The government rejects the recommendation to review its performance framework, reassess value for money, and consult stakeholders, stating existing KPIs and time limits are in place and there are no plans to review or redesign asylum contracts at this point.

The government acknowledges that lack of direct funding is an issue but rejects the recommendation to directly fund local authorities, instead focusing on collaborative work to increase dispersed accommodation procurement.

The government rejected the recommendation for a single, consolidated COVID-19 strategy for asylum accommodation and immigration detention, stating it does not believe a combined approach is appropriate or helpful.

The government rejects conducting a consolidated review of its COVID-19 management across both asylum accommodation and immigration detention, stating it is not helpful to compare them. They instead refer to ongoing daily management and review of temporary measures and published guidance by UKVI and IE.