Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time spent is (a) waiting to get through to and (b) on hold on a telephone call to Migrant Help.

AIRE is the new Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility service for asylum seekers. Migrant Help are the provider for AIRE. AIRE was implemented on 1 September 2019.

As this is a new contract, internal operational data from Migrant Help Is not yet ratified and cannot be shared at this point. We recognise that call waiting times are currently outside Service Level Standard and we are working with Migrant Help to support them in addressing this. Call volumes have exceeded forecasts for a variety of reasons and Migrant Help have introduced alternative forms of contact, which are already having a positive impact on reducing call waiting times.