Recommendation 16

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