Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria she applies when determining the selection of areas as asylum dispersal areas.

Asylum seekers are housed according to their individual needs and where there is available and appropriate accommodation. Agreements between the Government and local authorities are voluntary and have been in place since the previous Labour Government legislated for them in 1999.

We review this regularly, working closely with local authorities to ensure that the impact of asylum dispersals are considered and acted upon. This includes formal monitoring existing arrangements and the impact on local services and community cohesion.