Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 5
5
Rejected
Set out detailed measures to identify vulnerabilities and manage risks for asylum seekers sharing accommodation
Conclusion
The Home Office does not have adequate safeguards to protect against the risks of vulnerable people having to share accommodation with strangers. The Home Office has written to councils informing them that the number of people staying in hotels will double. It plans to achieve this by making people share rooms. The Home Office said an assessment would be carried out before people are moved into shared rooms, but it struggled to explain what that assessment would consider other than language and nationality. There was no clarity on whether the Home Office planned to consider the trauma that people claiming asylum might have faced and, while the Home Office said it would review health records when we asked about mental health, we are concerned that it does not have a robust process in place to make sure sharing arrangements will be safe. If the Home Office implements room sharing without proper safeguards there could be serious consequences. Recommendation 5: The Home Office should, as part of its Treasury Minute response, set out in detail the measures it will take to identify any vulnerabilities individuals waiting for a decision have, and how it will manage the risks to the individual that these may present.
Government Response Summary
The government disagrees with the recommendation, explaining that it already has a comprehensive safeguarding approach in place, with existing strategies, trained staff, collaboration with stakeholders, robust processes, and a Safeguarding Hub to identify vulnerabilities and manage risks for asylum seekers.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. The department’s headline safeguarding approach is set out in the safeguarding strategy. There is significant safeguarding information available not provided at the Committee session but set out below. The department takes the welfare of asylum seekers seriously and at every stage in the process, ensures that the needs and vulnerabilities of asylum seekers are identified and considered. The department works with a wide variety of stakeholders, including local authorities, Strategic Migration partnerships and non-governmental organisations to deliver sustainable, efficient and high-quality support systems to safeguard vulnerable asylum seekers. All departmental staff interacting with applications receive safeguarding training. This ensures that staff are skilled to identify, respond and take appropriate action to support the vulnerable. The department and its contractors work closely with the NHS, local authorities, and non-governmental organisations to ensure that asylum seekers can access the health care and support they need. All asylum seekers have access to free NHS services, the same way as British citizens and other permanent residents. All accommodation providers have a duty and requirement to assist people who need access to healthcare, and all frontline staff are safeguarding trained. All accommodation providers employ staff to be present at accommodation sites as welfare support officers. The department and its accommodation providers have robust processes in place to ensure that where someone is at risk, they are referred to the appropriate statutory agencies (police, NHS and social services) to promote appropriate safeguarding interventions. The department operates a Safeguarding Hub to support vulnerable individuals in accessing these services. Safeguarding Hub staff advocate for an individual’s needs with the statutory agencies to promote appropriate safeguarding interventions. The statutory agencies retain responsibility for all decisions on intervention activity. Any asylum seekers who need assistance with any matter can get in touch with Migrant Help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.