Committees

Asylum accommodation

Inquiry

The Home Office has a duty to provide housing and subsistence to asylum seekers who are awaiting a decision on their claim and are destitute.

Asylum accommodation is primarily delivered by private providers through the Asylum Accommodation and Support Services Contracts (AASC). Home Office spending on asylum accommodation and support has increased significantly in recent years, from £739 million in 2019-20 to £4.7 billion in 2023-4.

The Home Affairs Committee has launched an inquiry into asylum accommodation. The inquiry will focus on how asylum accommodation is currently delivered, how the Home Office has managed the AAS contracts, and what lessons can be learned and applied to delivery of asylum accommodation in the future. The inquiry will also look at the impact that the current approach to delivering asylum accommodation has on local areas, and how the Home Office works with local partners, particularly local authorities.

This inquiry is no longer accepting evidence

The deadline for submissions was 11:59pm on 3 February 2025.

Upcoming events

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No upcoming events scheduled

Past events

Tuesday 1 July 2025
10:00am Private
10:30am Public
Asylum accommodation - Oral evidence 1 July 2025
10:30am
  • Caroline O'Connor (Chief Executive Officer at Migrant Help)
  • Juliet Halstead (Deputy Director of Asylum Services at Migrant Help)
Room 6, Palace of Westminster
Tuesday 10 June 2025
2:00pm Private
2:45pm Public
Asylum accommodation - Oral evidence 10 June 2025
2:45pm
  • Dame Angela Eagle DBE (Minister for Border Security and Asylum at Home Office)
  • Simon Ridley (Second Permanent Secretary at Home Office)
  • Joanna Rowland CB (Director General, Customer Services at Home Office)
The Thatcher Room, Portcullis House
Tuesday 13 May 2025
2:00pm Private
2:45pm Public
Asylum accommodation - Oral evidence 13 May 2025
2:45pm
  • Steve Lakey (Managing Director at Clearsprings Ready Homes)
  • Claudia Sturt (Prisons and Immigration Director at Serco UK & Europe)
  • Jason Burt (Group Director of Health Safety & Compliance at Mears Group)
Room 6, Palace of Westminster
Tuesday 29 April 2025
2:00pm Private
2:30pm Public
Asylum accommodation - Oral evidence 29 April 2025
2:30pm
  • Megan Smith (Solicitor at Deighton Pierce Glynn)
  • Alex Fraser (UK Director – Refugee Services and Restoring Family Links at British Red Cross)
  • Enver Solomon (Chief Executive Officer at Refugee Council)
3:30pm
  • Natasha Beresford (Interim Strategic Director – Housing & Property Services at Dacorum Borough Council)
  • Frances McMeeking (Assistant Chief Officer for Operational Care Services and Homelessness at Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership)
  • Councillor Peter Mason (Leader at London Borough of Ealing, Board Member at the Local Government Association)
  • Paul Dennett (City Mayor at Salford City Council)
Room 15, Palace of Westminster

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