PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Asylum (2 July 2019)

Accommodation and support services will continue for 28 days from when an asylum seeker has been granted asylum. During this period the Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility (AIRE) Provider, Migrant Help, will assist newly recognised refugees to access local housing and benefit services through their dedicated ‘Move-On’ service. Within one working day of notification of the decision by the Home Office, Migrant Help will contact newly recognised refugees to help prepare them for their new lives in the UK.

This improved service includes: providing information on the length of ‘grace period’ and next steps on support, accommodation and employment; booking an appointment with the local Department of Work and Pensions office for a ‘work focussed interview’; signposting Service Users to the relevant Local Authority housing team; and providing information on, and signposting Service Users to, relevant public services, local support networks and voluntary sector organisations.

As part of the AIRE contracts, this service, will include clearly defined performance standards measured through a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) set within a wider Performance Management Regime (PMR). These KPIs will be monitored formally at Contract Management meetings between the providers and representatives of UK Visas and Immigration and will be supported by a rigorous contract compliance regime that will ensure that the required performance standards are met.

The Home Office and its Provider remains committed to working in partnership with local government and civil society to evaluate, develop and improve services.