Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance is issued by her Department on the weight expected to be given to (a) family ties, (b) culture and (c) language when deciding where asylum seekers should be accommodated.

Under the Immigration & Asylum Act 1999, the Government is required to provide accommodation to asylum seekers that would otherwise be destitute.

It is Home Office policy to offer accommodation on a no choice basis except in exceptional circumstances:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-accommodation-requests-policy/allocation-of-asylum-accommodation-policy-accessible