Speeches by Ribeiro-Addy.

“The questions have been quite generalised on the accommodation providers’ performance, but I have been specifically told not that you cannot provide them for a reason, but that you do not hold the data on them.”

“I want to ask about some of the issues with KPIs. Why haven’t you imposed the maximum level of service credits in response to poor performance, and why has there been such a delay in imposing financial penalties for failed KPIs?”

“Is there anything else being done to address performance issues, aside from the programme of issuing service credits? Because it does not seem to be—”

“I know this is not under your tenure entirely, but why is the KPI regime only being reviewed now, five years, I think, into the contract? When will this whole review be finished?”

“As part of this, is the Home Office assessing whether the level of service credit deductions is proportionate to the profits that providers are generating under these contracts?”

“No, I understand that, but is it proportionate to the profits that are generated? That is the question.”

“Yes, but they do keep failing to meet the KPIs. I suppose the question is—”

“So the KPIs are not relevant?”

“Even by the more realistic ones, they are still failing. So, I suppose the question is whether they are failing and whose fault it is.”

“Your responses seem to indicate that in some way it is not Migrant Help’s fault. Is it the Home Office’s fault? What more is the Home Office doing to make sure that this vital service is maintained?”

“You would like me to ask you that question?”

“Again, by the KPIs, even if they have changed, they are failing, by your own evidence.”

“People don’t like them.”

“Why has the estimated value of the AIRE contract gone down since 2019, given that demand for support is significantly higher?”

“As you know, I asked loads of questions of the Home Office on this subject matter, and I want to find out why the Home Office recently claimed to have no centralised data on accommodation providers’ performance and what steps are being taken to rectify this. Those are the responses I get back.”

“One more from me. I want to understand the rationale for awarding further contracts to Clearsprings for asylum accommodation when the company had previously lost a Ministry of Justice contract due to performance issues, and why that past performance was not considered. I know people point a lot of the time to our Depar…”

“You have awarded further contracts to Clearsprings for asylum accommodation, more generally.”

“Yes. You are retaining their services, are you not?”

“Do you do that Department by Department? Do you look at what they may have done providing a similar service to another Department?”

“So we could realistically have a situation where they have lost a contract with another Department because they have performed poorly, even if they are doing the same thing—providing accommodation—but the Home Office would allow them to either continue past their break clause or potentially renew their contract?”