Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what role Asylum Support Medical Advisors play in decisions made by the Home Office on support at Regulation 3(2)(b) of the Immigration and Asylum (Provision of Accommodation of Failed Asylum Seekers) Regulations 2005, what qualifications are needed to become such an advisor; how many such advisors have a contract with the Home Office in 2016; and what oversight arrangements the Home Office have in place for monitoring the work of those advisors.

Under the specified provision, an applicant is eligible for Section 4 support if they are unable to leave the UK by reason of a physical impediment, or other medical reason. When an applicant submits medical evidence in this regard, caseworkers may consider whether to refer the case to the Asylum Support Medical Adviser (ASMA) regarding the impact of the applicant’s medical condition on his ability to undertake international travel. All ASMA advisors are registered with the General Medical Council (GMC), and the Home Office is reviewing its relationship with the ASMA advisors, including the oversight of their operations.