Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-03-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that local authorities are properly informed and involved in decisions to distribute asylum seekers.
James Brokenshire
The Home Office maintains active partnerships with the local authorities that have volunteered to become dispersal areas across the UK and funds regional Strategic Migration Partnerships (SMPs) to plan the dispersal of asylum seekers across the region. The partnerships consider the impact on communities and local services so that adjustments can be made where appropriate. This ensures that community cohesion, social welfare and safety issues are properly considered.
SMPs act as a focal point allowing the sharing of expertise and vital information between the Home Office, its asylum accommodation providers, local government, health, education and the police, ensuring coordinated planning and leadership on asylum dispersion. They also consider other funded objectives such as initiatives in support of visa policy; modern slavery; immigration sanctions and improvement; vulnerable children (including Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children) and adults; No Recourse to Public Funds policies of local government; EU migration and integration.
The Home Office, our housing contractors and the SMPs work closely with local authorities to ensure we can accommodate asylum seekers in appropriate accommodation.
