AQW 4265/22-27

Ms Kate Nicholl
Alliance Party
South Belfast

Tabled Date: 07/10/2022
Answered On Date: 24/10/2022
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education whether, in the last 18 months, her Department has received data from the Home Office or Mears PLC relating to the number of children currently living in contingency accommodation.

Answer:

The Department has not received data directly from the Home Office or indirectly from the Mears Group over the last 18 months, regarding the number of children currently living in contingency accommodation.

The Department works alongside the Education Authority’s (EA) Intercultural Education Service (IES) to provide specific support to Asylum Seeking and Refugee (ASR) children including those living in contingency hotel accommodation. The EA does not receive data directly from the Home Office or indirectly from the Mears Group and no Data Sharing Agreements are in place between the bodies.

With the consent of Mears and the parents, the EA receives data directly from the families when a face-to-face meeting takes place within their accommodation.

Officials from my Department and The Executive Office are continuing to engage with the Home Office and Mears Group to develop and implement proposals to support the increasing number of ASR families arriving in Northern Ireland, including on the issue of data sharing.