Asked by: Rachel Reeves (Labour - Leeds West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government plans to revise the process for awarding contracts to private companies for the provision of accommodation for asylum seekers.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
All Home Office contracts are tendered in compliance with the EU Procurement Directives, which ensure that there is a transparent and equitable procurement process.
The project that is putting in place contracts to replace the current suite of contracts from 2019, will be utilising the Competitive Procedure with Negotiation procedure. This allows the contracting authority the opportunity to negotiate with short-listed bidders in a structured manner before inviting final tenders.
Asked by: Rachel Reeves (Labour - Leeds West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what measures are in place to ensure that private subcontractors providing accommodation for asylum seekers are meeting the standards of the Housing Act and that such measures are enforced and complaints acted on.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
Accommodation providers are required to provide safe, habitable, fit for purpose and correctly equipped accommodation that complies with the Decent Homes Standard in addition to standards outlined in relevant national or local housing legislation.
The contract requires Providers to visit and inspect each property every month and UKVI inspects a significant proportion of properties each year to ensure standards are being met. Where asylum accommodation is found to be falling short of the required standards UKVI has procedures in place to inspect, investigate and quickly resolve when specific information is received and a contract management regime to monitor supplier performance and take measures where appropriate.
Asked by: Rachel Reeves (Labour - Leeds West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers have been moved more than four times in a year by (a) G4S and (b) other providers of accommodation for asylum seekers.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The Home Office closely monitors the movement of all asylum seekers by accommodation providers, however historic statistics on the number of people who have been relocated from dispersed accommodation more than four times in a year could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
All relocation requests are monitored by UKVI and no individual will be moved on more than two occasions within a twelve month period unless there are exceptional circumstance.
Asked by: Rachel Reeves (Labour - Leeds West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the current total remuneration package is for the Chief Executive of HM Passport Office.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The Remuneration package for the Chief Executive of HM Passport Office is
disclosed in full within the published Annual Report and Accounts which is
available on the website at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/orr-annual-report-and-accounts-2013-t
o-2014
Remuneration for 2013-14 will be published in the Annual Report and Accounts
which is due to be laid in the House before the summer recess.