Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what additional funding has been provided to local authorities, schools and the NHS to fund costs relating to asylum seekers in the last 12 months.

The Government has a legal obligation to provide support to asylum applicants who would otherwise be destitute. Support is provided in form of subsistence allowance and accommodation. The Government provides funding for Strategy Migration Partnerships which act as a focal point for all local authorities in the relevant region to consider and resolve any issues relating to dispersals and migration. The funding for 2014/15 was £1.325 million.

The Government also provides additional funding to local authorities to support Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children, those leaving care and asylum seekers who are turning 18. The total funding for these in 2013/14 financial year was £77.2 million. Cost from 2014/15 are yet to be audited and unpublished.

Information for any extra funding for health and education will be available from the Department of Health and Department for Education respectively.