Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the numbers of street homeless people of the Home Office’s decision to restart asylum evictions from 15 September in England; and what plans they have to delay the proposed extension of this policy to Scotland and Wales until the data to permit such an assessment is available.

We have worked, and continue to work, with colleagues at the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to understand rough sleeping pressures within Local Authorities in England. We have considered guidance from MHCLG on the aforementioned pressures as part of the phased resumption of negative asylum support cessations.

Cases continue to be triaged for cessation in a manner that considers feedback and guidance from colleagues at MHCLG but above all considers that those receiving a cessation notification will have a route of return as well as access to assistance to leave the country through a Voluntary Returns Service without impacting on Local Authority rough sleeping pressures.

Discussions are ongoing with colleagues in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as to when negative asylum support cessations will resume in there.