Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether asylum applicants who are required to attend regular appointments at reporting centres are now obliged to travel to Salford; and if so, why they may not attend appointments near the place where they reside.

Asylum seekers are not required to report until they have received a negative decision on their application and when they are in receipt of support, their travel costs are met.

Individuals may be required to attend the nearest reporting centre or other location, including police stations, to their home address. There is no upper limit to the distance which an individual may be required to travel in order to attend their nearest reporting location but the Home Office assesses the needs of all types of reportees, not only asylum seekers when deciding reporting frequency and location.

As part of Immigration Enforcement’s transformation programme the Home Office is rationalising the use of reporting locations to move reportees to locations which are fully resourced to deal with each individual and their needs. We work closely with our estates partners to identify sites that provide adequate access to the public, security and accommodation that would enable us to provide a good level of service to the reporting population.

Individuals would only be required to report to Salford if this is the nearest suitable reporting location to their address.