§ Mr. BurnsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers the Chelmsford Borough Council area will be expected to house from April; and if he will make a statement. [112493]
§ Mrs. RocheThe number and location of asylum seekers accommodated under the national asylum support scheme throughout the country will depend on where accommodation, whether in the private or public sector, is made available to the Home Office for that purpose, on where there are existing ethnic minority communities and on where there is the potential for support services to be developed.
The Home Office intends to secure accommodation from local authorities through Regional Consortia. Chelmsford is in the Eastern Region Consortium.