Thirty-Fourth Report - Asylum Accommodation and UK-Rwanda partnership

Select Committee
Public Accounts Committee HC 639 29 May 2024
Report Status Government responded
Conclusions & Recommendations 32 items (4 recs)
Source View on Parliament website
Government Response (AI assessment · 32 of 32 classified)
Accepted 16
Acknowledged 7
Deferred 2
Not Addressed 4
Rejected 3
Government response
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Thirty-fourth report from Session 2023-24 · published 11 Jul 2025
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Recommendations & Conclusions

4 results
8 Conclusion Not Addressed
Home Office offers insufficient detail on Rwanda's relocation capacity and practical implementation.
Conclusion
The Home Office confirmed that the agreement with Rwanda was designed to start relocations quickly and then scale up to significant volumes of people. We asked about the Home Office’s ability to manage the practical implications of relocating people, and … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government states it agrees and has implemented the recommendation, but the response details past costs and confirms the ending of the Rwanda partnership, entirely failing to address the committee's observations and questions regarding Rwanda's capacity to accommodate relocated individuals.
HM Treasury
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9 Conclusion Not Addressed
Home Office relocation operational planning lacks sufficient detail and transparency for scrutiny.
Conclusion
The Home Office acknowledged that there were many constraints that it would have to take into account when running the programme of relocations, and told us that it had developed plans and contingency options. It told us that its operational … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government states it agrees and has implemented the recommendation, but the response details past costs and confirms the ending of the Rwanda partnership, completely failing to address the committee's concerns about detailed operational planning and contingencies for relocations.
HM Treasury
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14 Conclusion Not Addressed
Home Office awarded major accommodation site contracts without full competition, citing urgency.
Conclusion
We asked the Home Office why it had not submitted to competition five of the contracts relating to the new sites, worth £243 million of the £253 million it had spent through contracts. The Home Office told us that it … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government states it agrees and has implemented the recommendation, outlining measures to improve cost profiling, technical expertise, and due diligence for site selection and delivery, but does not address the committee's concerns about the lack of competition in past contracts or provide assurance for future competitive tendering.
HM Treasury
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17 Conclusion Not Addressed
Home Office spends substantial ODA on in-country asylum support, citing government choice.
Conclusion
Many of those subject to removal will be living in Home Office accommodation, such as hotels or large sites, despite being unable to claim asylum in the UK. The Home Office spent an estimated £4.7 billion on asylum support (which … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government states it agrees and has implemented the recommendation, but the response details existing welfare and safeguarding provisions for asylum seekers, completely failing to address the committee's concerns about the sustainability of current spending on accommodation or the use of ODA.
HM Treasury
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