Source · National Audit Office

Asylum accommodation and support

Published: 3 Jul 2020 Recommendations: 7 Type: Value for Money NAO confirmed: 7 Department: Home Office

This report examines the government’s replacement of the COMPASS contracts for accommodation and support for asylum seekers.

Dept: Home Office Topics: Borders and immigrationCommercial and financial managementProcurement and contract managementRefugees and asylum nao.org.uk →

Recommendations

7 items

6 accepted 1 rejected 6 implemented

Rec	Recommendation	Addressee	Acceptance	Implementation
1	The Department should: a) build on its existing work with Migrant Help, to improve the performance of the AIRE helpline. Now that Migrant Help is answering calls more quickly, the Department should focus on other aspects of the AIRE contract such as inductions for those using the service, to ensure that Migrant Help delivers all its responsibilities to the required standards; Ref Page 11, paragraph 20, point a · Implemented 30/06/2023	Home Office	Accepted	Implemented ✓ NAO
2	b) review providers’ approach to reducing the time that people are spending in initial accommodation. It should review whether people who have been in residence for some time are being offered dispersed accommodation at the same rate as recent arrivals, and whether its performance framework incentivises the right behaviour; Ref Page 11, paragraph 20, point b	Home Office	Rejected	— ✓ NAO
3	c) encourage the AIRE and accommodation providers to automate links between their systems, to more efficiently resolve supported asylum seekers’ issues, and evaluate the potential of the information collected by AIRE as a resource to improve the service over the longer term, including using aggregate and trend data to resolve issues raised by stakeholder organisations; Ref Page 11, paragraph 20, point c · Implemented 30/06/2023	Home Office	Accepted	Implemented ✓ NAO
4	d) publish more information about the service’s performance, cost and service improvement plans, in line with Cabinet Office guidance on public contracts. Greater transparency will help the public and other stakeholders to better understand the service and its performance; Ref Page 11, paragraph 20, point d · Implemented 01/2023	Home Office	Accepted	Implemented ✓ NAO
5	e) update demand forecasts and share these with providers, particularly in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic and related changes to demand patterns; Ref Page 11, paragraph 20, point e · Implemented 12/2020	Home Office	Accepted	Implemented ✓ NAO
6	f) prepare for the likelihood that the Department will need to renegotiate some accommodation contracts, particularly for the South, to achieve its redistribution aims, by reviewing its understanding of what this service should cost; and Ref Page 11, paragraph 20, point f · Implemented 12/2022	Home Office	Accepted	Implemented ✓ NAO
7	g) start planning sufficiently early for the next procurement of asylum accommodation contracts, to allow time for ministers to consider substantial changes to the current model if needed. Ref Page 11, paragraph 20, point g · Implemented 12/2023	Home Office	Accepted	Implemented ✓ NAO

Public Accounts Committee follow-up

1 report

The Public Accounts Committee examined this NAO report and published its own recommendations. The government responds to PAC recommendations via Treasury Minutes.

20 Nov 2020 Public Accounts C… Twenty-Fifth Report - Asylum accommodation and support transformation programme — 14 recommendations · parliament.uk