AQW 1095/22-27

Ms Paula Bradshaw
Alliance Party
South Belfast

Tabled Date: 07/06/2022
Answered On Date: 17/08/2022
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Communities what representations she is making to the UK Home Office concerning improved accommodation for asylum seekers.

Answer:

Issues around immigration, including accommodation and support for asylum seekers, are excepted matters and do not fall within my Department’s remit. The Home Office is the operational and policy lead on these matters.

I have written to the Permanent Secretary within the Executive Office to raise concerns that have been raised with me, and enquire about the approach currently being adopted by Mears, the Home Office’s local contractor, to the sourcing of appropriate accommodation for asylum seekers.