Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has been made on the development of a strategy for asylum accommodation; if she will list the other Government departments that are involved in this work; and what steps her Department is taking to consult (a) local authorities, (b) the devolved administrations and (c) relevant community organisations during the development of the strategy.

As part of our commitment to end the use of all asylum hotels and reduce costs for taxpayers, the Home Office has been working in collaboration with other government departments and local authorities to develop a more sustainable model of accommodation which seeks to reduce competition for affordable housing and help deliver new supply.

As part of this, the Home Office’s Asylum Accommodation Programme is now working in collaboration with other government departments to deliver a range of sites, including potential former military sites, that contribute to a more flexible estate. Decisions on the use of alternative asylum accommodation sites will be made on a site-by-site basis.

The government is also investing £500 million to develop this new, more sustainable accommodation model. This funding will be delivered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in partnership with the Home Office and local councils, in order to deliver better outcomes for communities and taxpayers. This new funding will complement ongoing Home Office reforms to the asylum accommodation estate, including pilot schemes to repurpose derelict buildings and to develop other community-led alternatives to the use of hotels.

We continue to keep the strategy under review as progress continues.