Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will have discussions with the Northern Ireland administration on the (a) social, (b) physical and (c) mental health needs of asylum seekers in Northern Ireland.

The safety and wellbeing of asylum seekers that we support is of paramount importance to the Home Office. The Asylum Accommodation Support Contract (AASC) Statement of Requirements below gives a detailed breakdown of all of the services to be undertaken by our accommodation providers and to the standards we expect. Full details of our policies: http://data.parliament.uk/DepositedPapers/Files/DEP2018-1112/AASC_-_Schedule_2_-_Statement_of_Requirements.pdf.

The Home Office continues to engage with Northern Ireland government departments to progress agreements to ensure continued delivery for service users in Northern Ireland.