Member

I will respond to the comments from the noble Lord, Lord Empey, about these proposals—I think the noble Baroness, Lady Scott, may have had an intended PNQ today on this issue—and the compatibility of the Serco proposal with the Renters’ Rights Bill. These kinds of arrangements with the private rented sector have been in place for many years, including under the previous Government, and it has been the Government’s statutory duty to accommodate destitute asylum seekers since 2005. The Home Office is developing a long-term strategy for asylum accommodation that aims to deliver a better long-term model of accommodation supply to reduce competition for affordable housing, help deliver new supply and give the communities we serve more control. I am not in a position to comment on the arrangements of another government department and what it may or may not have in place, but I am happy to write to noble Lords to set out the Home Office’s position and how progress is being made on this.