Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to ensure that long-standing tenants in Croydon are not (a) evicted and (b) displaced by higher rental offers made to landlords by (i) Serco and (ii) other contractors.

The Home Office has a legal obligation to provide accommodation for asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute, whilst their claims are being processed.

This Government is determined to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly and fairly. This includes our accommodation sites, as the Home Office continues to identify a range of options to minimise the use of hotels and ensure better use of public money, whilst maintaining sufficient accommodation to meet demand.

Our accommodation strategy is to support exit from hotels and deliver a more sustainable model for asylum seekers, local partners, local authorities, and communities as a whole. We are working closely with Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to deliver this, with a focus on community cohesion.

Accommodation providers are responsible for sourcing and securing suitable properties. They work closely with local authorities to ensure that local knowledge, intelligence and context inform procurement decisions, helping to place accommodation where it is most appropriate and sustainable.

The procurement process is guided by principles of sustainability and measured growth, ensuring that accommodation is not only available but also suitable for long-term use and integrated within local communities.

The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.