Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of allowing people to register to house people awaiting an asylum decision.

The government has a legal obligation under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 to provide asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute with accommodation and other support whilst their claim for asylum is being considered.

Ongoing work across government is being undertaken to identify and secure alternative, more appropriate, cost-effective accommodation options around the country.