Report on inspection of the Home Office’s provision of asylum accommodation

A report on the inspection of the Home Office’s resources, policies, processes and performance concerning the provision asylum accommodation, and the Home Office response to the report, have been published. The investigation, carried out by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI), looked into how the Home Office manages and oversees its ‘Commercial and Operational Managers Procuring of Asylum Support Services’ (COMPASS) contracts and ensures the needs of asylum seekers are being met. The report makes nine recommendations, all of which have been accepted by the Home Office.

The report recommends that the Home Office:

• produce an ‘Action Plan’ for asylum accommodation by 1 October 2018 that will address recommendations made by the ICIBI’s report and nominates a senior civil servant to oversee progress in addressing these

• introduce regular quality assurance checks on the application of service credits for non-conformance with COMPASS contract key performance indicators

• review aspects of Contract Compliance Teams and enforce standard operating procedures for contract compliance officers in advance of new COMPASS contracts

• establish a method for capturing data about local authority inspections of asylum accommodation

• discuss and agree on what information needs to be shared with providers, involving NGOs and other stakeholders where appropriate, and define the data standards providers must employ

• review the policies, process and practices of providers on the safeguarding, identification and handling of vulnerabilities

• capture and analyses data on vulnerable groups, such as LGBT+ individuals or trafficking victims, to test the effectiveness of procedures and policies, such as requests from individuals for specialist accommodation

• review and finalise the purpose, terms of reference and membership of the National Asylum Stakeholders Forum

• provide an update on any new measures to assist the integration of those granted asylum in the UK resulting from the Casey Review into Opportunity and Integration

In its reponse, the Home Office accepted all recommendations made by the ICIBI and set out how it will achieve these.

Source: Report: An inspection of the Home Office’s management of asylum accommodation provision

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