§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many units of accommodation the National Asylum Support Service estimates it will provide in total in(a) 2000–01 and (b) each of the next three years; how many units have been provided to date in 2000–01; and if he will make a statement; [148824]
(2) how many units of accommodation are provided in property under contract to the National Asylum Support Service; and what proportion of such accommodation was (a) occupied and (b) unoccupied on the first day of each month in 2000–01 to date. [148825]
§ Mrs. Roche[holding answer 5 February 2001]: The information is not available in the precise form requested. As at the end of December 2000, 26,7001 units of accommodation were contracted by National Asylum Support Service (NASS), of which 16,600 units were allocated to asylum seekers and their dependants.
NASS estimates that it will require 44,000 bedspaces in this financial year 2000–01. For 2001–02 NASS estimates that it will require somewhere in the region of 16,000 additional bedspaces. Estimates for future financial years are not available.
1Figures rounded to nearest 100