Written questions by Simmonds.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the reduction in hotel accommodation for asylum seekers around Heathrow Airport on neighbouring local authorities.

The Home Office continues to work with a range of stakeholders and consider a range of options to fulfil its legal obligations and deliver upon the commitment to reduce the overall cost of asylum accommodation, and to end the use of hotels over time.Current accommodation funding arrangements are published on GOV.UK: Asylum Dispersal Grant: funding instruction Asylum Dispersal Grant: funding instruction - GOV.UK

Pursuant to the Answer of 2 May 2025 to Question 47267 on Cambridgeshire Constabulary: Domestic Visits, whether special advisers in her Department wrote her speech at this event.

No.

Whether any external contractors were procured by her Department in relation to her press conference at the Cambridgeshire Police headquarters on 10 April 2025.

No.

Pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 23 April 2025, HCWS593, on Extending licensing hours for the 80th anniversary of victory in Europe Day, whether her Department made an assessment of the potential merits to the hospitality sector of extending the licensing hours on the Friday 8 May in addition.

Licensing hours in England and Wales were extended on Thursday 8 May to mark the 80th anniversary of VE day.

What information her Department holds on whether the (a) College of Policing and (b) National Police Chiefs’ Council has provided guidance to police forces on election purdah.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) ‘Pre-Election Period Guidance’ provides advice to officers and staff on maintaining impartiality and managing interactions with candidates during the pre-election period. The guidance covers principles of conduct, publicity, and appropriate engagement with political figures. It was most recently updated in 2024 and is available online at: https://www.npcc.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/media/downloads/publications/publications-log/npcc/2024/npcc-pre-election-period-guidance.pdfThe College of Policing also provide Authorised Professional Practice (APP) guidance in relation to election law and the policing of elections. This can be found online at: https://www.college.police.uk/app/policing-elections?s=

How many (a) asylum seekers and (b) refugees are housed in accommodation procured by Mears by local authority.

Under the current Asylum Accommodation and Support Contracts, Serco provides accommodation in the North West and Midlands and East of England regions; Mears provides accommodation in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber; and Clearsprings Ready Homes provides accommodation in Wales, the South East, the South East and London.Data, published quarterly, on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation can be found within the Asy_D11 tab for our most recent statistics release. The data can also be broken down by region and by local authority. Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) (opens in a new tab).

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2025 to Question 28146 on Asylum: Local Government, what data her Department holds on funding to local councils in England for (a) asylum seekers and (b) refugees.

Funding provided to Local Authorities by the Home Office in respect of asylum & resettlement is made in the form of grant payments.As per the most recent published Cabinet Office grant data, in financial year 2023-24 these Home Office grants totalled approximately £500m - Government grants statistics 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK.

Which contractors provide accommodation services for (a) asylum seekers and (b) refugees for her Department.

The Home Office’s asylum accommodation services are delivered under contracts by Serco, Mears, Clearsprings Ready Homes and Corporate Travel Management. These contracts were entered into by our predecessors.The Home Office does not have any contractors providing accommodation for refugees under Resettlement schemes.

Pursuant to the Answer of 27 March 2025 to Question 40190, on Asylum: Hotels, if she will publish each letter sent to each local authority chief executive since 4 July 2024.

The Home Office does not routinely publish correspondence on operational matters.In addition, it has been the longstanding policy of the Home Office under successive governments not to comment publicly on individual hotels which may or may not be utilised by the Home Office, nor do we provide details of those we accommodate at any site.

What the average cost to the public purse is of an asylum seeker.

The Home Office’s publicly available transparency data sets out the annual costs of asylum support. The most recent data, covering the year 2023/24, can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-and-protection-data-q4-2024.

If she will publish correspondence sent to local authorities on (a) accessing funding for locally-led work on grooming gangs and (b) the conditions of funding.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 7 April to Question UIN 44574, and to the responses I gave in Parliament on 28 April.The Home Secretary has commissioned Baroness Louise Casey to conduct an audit to improve national understanding of the scale, nature, and profile of group-based child sexual abuse. The audit is well underway and will report to the Home Secretary in the next month.

Pursuant to the Answer of 14 February 2025 to Question 29611 on Offences against Children: Reviews, how many local inquiries will be supported; and at what average cost.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 7 April to Question UIN 44574, and to the responses I gave in Parliament on 28 April.The Home Secretary has commissioned Baroness Louise Casey to conduct an audit to improve national understanding of the scale, nature, and profile of group-based child sexual abuse. The audit is well underway and will report to the Home Secretary in the next month.

When Baroness Casey will report on the national audit into grooming gangs.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 7 April to Question UIN 44574, and to the responses I gave in Parliament on 28 April.The Home Secretary has commissioned Baroness Louise Casey to conduct an audit to improve national understanding of the scale, nature, and profile of group-based child sexual abuse. The audit is well underway and will report to the Home Secretary in the next month.

With reference to her Department's guidance entitled Terms of reference for VfM Study on procuring short-term residential accommodation, published on 11 March 2025, how much the Home Office spent on hotels for asylum support in 2024-25.

The Home Office publishes information on asylum expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts at Home Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK(opens in a new tab).

Pursuant to the Answer of 7 April 2025 to Question 43097 on Asylum: Housing, how many dwellings have been procured via Cushman and Wakefield by local authority; and what the cost of those dwellings is.

The Home Office is working closely with a range of stakeholders to fulfil its statutory obligations, while seeking to reduce the overall cost of asylum accommodation for the taxpayer.As part of this programme, the Home Office works with its contracted estates delivery partner, Cushman and Wakefield, to identify potential leasehold and freehold properties for the Home Office to acquire. The Home Office does not publish information on the location of asylum accommodation sites for safety and security reasons.Overall asylum expenditure is published on a routine basis in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts.

How many (a) asylum seekers and (b) refugees are housed in accommodation procured by Serco by local authority.

Under the current Asylum Accommodation and Support Contracts, Serco provides accommodation in the North West and Midlands and East of England regions; Mears provides accommodation in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber; and Clearsprings Ready Homes provides accommodation in Wales, the South East, the South East and London.Data, published quarterly, on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation can be found within the Asy_D11 tab for our most recent statistics release. The data can also be broken down by region and by local authority. Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) (opens in a new tab).

How many (a) asylum seekers and (b) refugees are housed in accommodation procured by Clearsprings Ready Homes by local authority.

Under the current Asylum Accommodation and Support Contracts, Serco provides accommodation in the North West and Midlands and East of England regions; Mears provides accommodation in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber; and Clearsprings Ready Homes provides accommodation in Wales, the South East, the South East and London.Data, published quarterly, on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation can be found within the Asy_D11 tab for our most recent statistics release. The data can also be broken down by region and by local authority. Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) (opens in a new tab).

What discussions she has had with local authorities on the potential impact of the costs of supporting asylum seekers on the financial sustainability of local authorities.

This Government inherited an asylum system under exceptional strain, with tens of thousands of people stuck in limbo without any prospect of having their claims processed. At their peak use under the previous government, in the autumn of 2023, more than 400 asylum hotels were being leased by the Home Office, at a cost of almost £9 million a day.Inevitably, due to the size of the backlog we inherited, the Government has been forced to continue with the use of hotels for the time being. It remains our absolute commitment to end the use of hotels over time, as part of our reduction in overall asylum accommodation costs.The Home Office continues to work closely with local authorities to manage all the pressures arising from the provision of asylum accommodation including the impact on wider local authority obligations and plans.The Home Office has delivered various grants through which we provide funds to support local authorities housing asylum seekers.Working closely with MHCLG, we are also making efficiencies in supporting the integration of newly recognised refugees to mitigate homelessness risks. This includes the sharing of cross-cohort, place-based data with partners to support better planning, and the completion of scoping exercises to understand the full costs to LAs and ensure our funding package is appropriate.

What steps she is taking to support people of Chagossian descent who arrive in the UK.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 18 March to Question 37161.

Whether she has had discussions with local authorities on the potential impact of migrants from the Chagos Islands on levels of service provision.

The Home Office has made funding available to support local authorities in meeting their statutory duties in relation to Chagossian British citizens arriving in the UK. Alongside other responsible departments, the Home Office continues to engage in discussions and work with the local authorities most impacted by the arrival of Chagossian British citizens in the UK.