Written evidence from the National Audit
Office
THE PROVISION
OF ACCOMMODATION
TO ASYLUM
SEEKERS
The UK Border Agency provides accommodation under
the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 for those asylum seekers who
are destitute (or likely to become destitute). The Agency seeks
to provide somewhere to sleep for each new applicant and their
dependants on their first night and, if the asylum seeker can
demonstrate they are destitute, will arrange accommodation and
weekly cash payments to cover basic day to day expenses whilst
their application for asylum is considered. An asylum seeker is
not allowed to obtain employment whilst their application is considered.
The costs of accommodation, including heating, lighting and council
tax, are paid directly by the Service to the accommodation provider.
If asylum seekers meet the requirements to receive
support, they are given suitable housing and money for essentials
if required. Asylum seekers cannot choose where they live and
are sent to wherever suitable housing is available within the
United Kingdom. Housing is provided in the regions of the United
Kingdom in general with only a small proportion of asylum seekers
living in London and the South East.
Different housing is provided at different stages
of the application process. If the asylum seeker qualifies for
housing when they first make their asylum application, they are
placed in initial accommodation, usually in the region where their
case owner works. They will then normally be moved to different
housing within the same region.
Once a decision has been made, if they are refused
asylum, support under Section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum
Act 1999 is provided in the form of accommodation and vouchers
to cover the cost of food and other basic essential items. Individuals
are generally eligible for Section 4 support if: i) their asylum
application has been finally determined as refused, ii) they are
destitute, and iii) there are reasons that temporarily prevent
them from leaving the UK. Accommodation providers are contracted
to the Agency to provide accommodation and should comply with
standards laid down by the Agency[1].
1. The amount paid by the UKBA annually on
accommodation for asylum seekers, and what percentage of UKBA
total expenditure is spent on accommodation for asylum seekers
There are a number of different elements of accommodation
costs. In the financial year 2009-10, the total expenditure for
asylum cost (under Section 95, Section 98 & Section 4 of the
Immigration and Asylum Act 1999) was £234.7 million. Payments
made under section 4 also include subsistence payments to claimants,
which were invoiced together with accommodation costs and it is
not possible to separate the two elements.
This total of £234.7 million[2]
represented just under 13.9% of UKBA's total net expenditure of
£1,692.3 million in 2009-10.
The Agency also incurred costs for Unaccompanied
Asylum-Seeking Children. These payments cover a range of costs,
including accommodation, which local authorities incur in supporting
such children but, again, it is not possible to separate out the
accommodation element.
2. Provide a breakdown of the amount paid
by the UKBA to accommodate asylum seekers by region and local
authority
In the financial year 2009-10, the accommodation
costs paid by the Regions of the UKBA were as follows:
| Region | £m
|
| London and South East | 16.7
|
| North East | 24.9 |
| North West | 22.0 |
| Midland | 12.3 |
| Wales and South West | 8.7 |
| Scotland and Northern Ireland | 13.3
|
| | |
| TOTAL | 97.9 |
In addition, the Case Resolution Directorate (which deals with
the legacy cases from the previous asylum system) spent £136,743,477
on accommodation costs. The Agency was unable to provide a regional
split of this expenditure in the time available as it would have
involved resource-intensive examination of individual cases.
The Home Office released details of expenditure by accommodation
contract for each financial year from 2006-07 to 2008-09, and
total expenditure by contract for the period 2006 to 2009 in response
to parliamentary questions[3].
See the table[4] below:
ACCOMMODATION COST 2006-09
| £ million |
| Supplier | 2006-07
| 2007-08 | 2008-09
|
| Angel Group | 11.9 | 28.2
| 31.3 |
| Astonbrook | 8.1 | 16.6
| 3.3 |
| Cardiff City Council | 1.8 |
4.3 | 4.8 |
| Clearsprings | 12.7 | 22.7
| 27.2 |
| North West Consortium | 6.1 |
9.1 | 8.0 |
| West Midlands Consortium | 7.2
| 9.9 | 6.7 |
| Y and H Consortium | 15.8 |
20.8 | 20.5 |
| Glasgow City Council | 13.7 |
16.8 | 11.1 |
| Happy Homes UK Limited | 3.0
| 9.3 | 15.6 |
| Jomast | - | -
| 1.6 |
| Kimberly Group | 3.7 | 6.1
| 4.4 |
| Liverpool City Council | 1.0
| 3.6 | 6.1 |
| NE Consortium | 14.3 | 11.5
| 11.1 |
| N. Ireland Housing Executive | -
| - | 1.2 |
| Nottingham City Council | 3.2
| 5.7 | 5.7 |
| Priority Properties NW Ltd. | 9.0
| 20.5 | 26.8 |
| Refugee HA Ltd. | 2.2 | 3.5
| 3.1 |
| Swansea City Council | 1.2 |
1.1 | 0.6 |
| United Property Management | 15.4
| 28.9 | 37.6 |
| YMCA Glasgow | 1.8 | 4.2
| 4.2 |
The proportion of asylum seekers in accommodation provided by
local authorities is variable. Using a snapshot from a date in
2010 would give the following indicative proportion of cost spent
in local authorities:
North East: 48%
North West: 36%
Midlands: 41%
Wales & South West: 50%
Scotland & Northern Ireland: 58%[5]
3. Details of any additional funding given to local authorities
or devolved administrations in view of the extra demand on resources
arising from the accommodation of asylum seekers (for example,
in the areas of education and health)
UKBA has not paid local authorities additional amounts to offset
extra demands on local services.
The Agency pays a small amount in grants to Regional Strategic
Migration Partnerships, which include local authorities, but these
are to facilitate discussions on migration issues rather than
to offset additional costs.
We considered the question of whether asylum seekers were taken
into account in the funding formulae for education and health
expenditure more widely?
For the NHS in England, populations for Primary Care Trust allocations
include "asylum seekers in receipt of subsistence only support,
supported in accommodation, or in receipt of section 4 support,
and persons in detention, published by the Home Office in Asylum
Statistics[6]." However,
no additional weights are applied for asylum seekers.
For education in England, the principal determinant of allocations
to schools is pupil numbers, and pupils that are asylum seekers
are counted as any other pupil. As of 2011-12, the pupil premium
will apply additional weights according to eligibility for free
school meals and looked after children. Schools will receive additional
funding for children of asylum seekers that fall into these categories
at the same rate as any other pupil (ie £430 per pupil).
4. Details of any effect of this spend and/or funding on
the Barnett Formula
We enquired with the Ministry of Justice and HM Treasury. HM Treasury
told us that changes in spending of UK wide bodies do not affect
the allocation of funding under the Barnett Formula and therefore
no change would take place. They also noted that the Barnett formula
applies to changes in spending within departments, rather than
to individual items of spending in arm's length bodies within
departments.
18 January 2011
1
For standards for asylum accommodation, please see the following
link: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/aboutus/workingwithus/workingwithasylum/support/
Back
2
Sourced from UKBA management information and not validated. Back
3
Official Report, 25 Jan 2010 : Columns 630-634W and 22
February 2010, Columns 332-333W Back
4
Figures have been taken from internal management information and
the figures for provider spend have not been specifically audited
independently.
Back
5
Sourced from UKBA management information and not validated. Back
6
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Managingyourorganisation/Financeandplanning/Allocations/DH_091850 Back
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