Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which local authorities in England will be eligible to apply for the Supporting the asylum dispersal scheme; what criteria determines eligibility; which local authorities applied for the scheme by its deadline of 21 December 2017; what the outcome is of such applications; what the contractual requirements on local authorities are in terms of refused asylum seekers, and if she will make a statement.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government invited local authorities with the highest numbers of asylum seekers receiving Government support to apply to the scheme. Ten local authorities applied by the 21 December 2017 deadline – Bradford, Coventry, Kirklees, Leeds, Liverpool, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield and Wolverhampton. Additional applications have been received from Birmingham and Sandwell. Successful local authorities will be notified in due course.

Participating local authorities are expected to work with asylum seekers awaiting a decision and make them aware of the support available once a decision has been made, as well as preparing them for the consequences of a negative decision by supporting a voluntary return to their home countries.