Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 16
16
Hotel accommodation usually lacks facilities for children and suitable accommodation for families to share for...
Conclusion
Hotel accommodation usually lacks facilities for children and suitable accommodation for families to share for extended periods.42 We received written evidence from the Refugee Council, which told us that while in hotels or initial accommodation, asylum seekers cannot register with a GP or enrol their children into school.43 We received written evidence regarding the health and well-being themes for initial accommodation residents in Birmingham, which described the importance of addressing the health needs of asylum seekers, who may, for example, be suffering the effects from torture, malnourishment or social isolation.44 However. the NAO found that support organisations and local health 34 Q 26; C&AG’s report, paras 15, 3.17 35 Qq 17, 24–28, 31 36 Q 111 37 Q 57 38 C&AG’s report, para 3.15 39 Correspondence from Matthew Rycroft, Permanent Secretary, Home Office, Re: Home Office Asylum Accommodation and Support, dated 15 October 2020 40 C&AG’s report, para 3.16 41 Q 59 42 C&AG’s report, para 3.18 43 Q 60; C&AG’s report, para 3.18; ASY0003 - British Refugee Council 44 ASY0011 - Health and well-being themes for Initial Accommodation residents in Birmingham 14 Asylum accommodation and support transformation programme providers have struggled to provide services to asylum seekers in hotels.45 We asked whether the Department had considered prioritising families with children in determining who should be a priority for moving out of hotels. The Department said that it prioritised getting families with children and other vulnerable service users out of hotels quickly. It said that it was producing further instructions to providers—via a ‘tasking note’—on how to prioritise getting people out of hotels appropriately and ensure consistency in the criteria that providers were using.46 Engaging local stakeholders
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
2.2 The government is committed to reducing and ending the routine use of hotel accommodation and is taking a range of steps with providers to achieve this. One of the ways in which the use of hotels can cease is through providers procuring sufficient dispersed accommodation, which requires the cooperation of local authorities. The department is doing all it can to encourage local authorities to support the procurement of sufficient dispersed accommodation and has recommenced the procurement of accommodation. The department, with support from the Cabinet Office, is working with its providers to accelerate their procurement plans and assess further options. The department is currently assessing the rate at which the hotel population can be reduced and the expected timescale for eliminating regular hotel use from the system. 2.3 The other way in which hotel usage can be reduced is through moving people whose asylum claim has been concluded out of asylum accommodation, and then returning to the usual flow of service users into dispersed accommodation. The department is working with local authorities to move people on from asylum accommodation when their claims have been concluded.