ASYLUM seekers are left in temporary accommodation for almost three times longer than the UK Government says they should be and it’s unclear whether deals with private contractors will be value for money, a watchdog says.
The National Audit Office (NAO) found Home Office data showed 1000 people staying in initial accommodation for at least 86 days – far longer than the 35 day target. Initial accommodation includes hotels and those affected were unable to register with a GP or enrol their children in schools.
Between July and October 2019, the number of asylum seekers in initial accommodation increased by 96% from 1700 to 3300. And as many as 980 people who had arrived in the UK by the end of December were still in temporary placements at the end of March.
Accommodation is supplied by a range of private contractors including Mears Group in Scotland. The NAO said the companies “are not incentivised” to move people into more suitable housing after the initial target is missed because the Home Office penalises providers for each accommodation request and move every month that exceeds agreed timescales, rather than each day.
This may encourage providers to prioritise newer arrivals whose time in initial accommodation has not yet breached performance standards, it said.
The NAO said accommodation providers are now “broadly” meeting performance standards, but providers new to their regions struggled in the early months of their contracts.
Mears, which took over from Serco in Glasgow late last year, told the NAO some houses it took over from outgoing providers were below the standards required by the new contract which increased the maintenance work needed and created delays.
NAO head Gareth Davies said delays had caused “difficulties”. Mears said it has “worked to make improvements” on the properties it has used.
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