Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what screening, safeguarding and risk-assessment procedures will be applied before individuals seeking asylum are accommodated at Site A at MoD Bicester.

No final decision has been made regarding the use of Site A at MoD Bicester for asylum accommodation, and no final decision will be taken until the necessary assessments, planning permissions and approvals have been completed and properly considered.

When a person claims asylum, the Home Office conducts mandatory identity and security checks. The biographic and biometric data are checked against relevant Home Office systems and police criminality databases including domestic and international data so we can establish whether the person is a threat to public safety and supports appropriate referrals to statutory agencies where required. The asylum screening part of the process is based on an interview aimed at establishing: any vulnerabilities, any threat to the UK/UK interest, their journey to/history in the UK and the basis of their claim.