Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what (a) accommodation and (b) other support her Department provides to asylum seekers between the time of an asylum seeker making an appointment with an asylum intake unit and that appointment taking place.

The Home Office has a legal obligation to provide support to asylum-seekers who would otherwise be destitute.

Those wishing to claim asylum are expected to do so on arrival at the port of entry or, if already in the UK, and their circumstances change, as soon as possible at the Asylum Intake Unit (AIU) in Croydon. The AIU operates an appointment process for those who have accommodation, but a walk-in service is available for those who are destitute and need immediate accommodation.

Destitute asylum seekers can access initial support under section 98 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 which is offered as initial or contingency accommodation (usually full board) when they make an appointment to attend an asylum screening interview at the AIU and until the appointment time.