Asylum: Coronavirus

(asked on 21st April 2020) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of (1) homeless people, and (2) asylum-seekers, who are sharing emergency or asylum accommodation and are unable to self-isolate if necessary; and what steps they are taking to address this issue. [T]


Answered by
Baroness Williams of Trafford Portrait
Baroness Williams of Trafford
Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
This question was answered on 5th May 2020

(1) This is a public health crisis more than anything and so requires a health response. To enable this our priority is to bring vulnerable people inside so they can self-isolate and stop the virus spreading. More than 5,400?rough?sleepers and people who have been living in accommodation with communal sleeping spaces such as night shelters ?– over 90% of those known to local authorities at the beginning of the crisis?have now been made offers of safe accommodation – ensuring some of the most vulnerable in society are protected from the pandemic. This is a truly remarkable achievement, and one which is the result of the hard work of local government, agencies and charities across the country, who have helped to get people off the street and into safe accommodation, protecting the most vulnerable in society and ultimately saving lives.? We announced that councils across England will receive another £1.6 billion in additional funding to enable them to respond to other COVID-19 pressures across all the services they deliver, stepping up support for services helping the most vulnerable, including homeless people. This takes the total funding to support councils to respond to the pandemic to over £3.2 billion. This is in addition to £3.2 million in targeted funding for councils to support vulnerable rough sleepers.

(2) The Accommodation providers recognise the challenge of managing COVID 19 within our accommodation estate and are working closely with Public Health England (PHE) on how their guidance on social distancing and self-isolation is properly applied, while ensuring that people can continue to access essential services.

In Initial Accommodation facilities, which tends to be hostel based, PHE Guidance recommends that separate rooms and segregation be provided for symptomatic people, or they should be moved to hotels. Our providers have configured their accommodation estate to meet this guidance.

In Dispersed Accommodation, which is houses or homes of multiple occupancy accommodating small numbers, Service Users have been provided guidance to ensure they socially distance or self isolate in line with the advice provided to the general public. Additionally, services providers have enhanced their contact management and wraparound services to ensure access to medical care, food packages and other essential items.

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