Question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the fifty fourth report of the Public Accounts Committee of Session 2013-14 entitled COMPASS: provision of asylum accommodation, HC 1000, what measures his Department have in place to respond to the lessons learned following the transition to and implementation of the COMPASS contracts in preparations for the transition to the new contracts.
Answer
Since the establishment of the Asylum Accommodation and Support Transformation Project in the autumn of 2016, there has been extensive consideration of lessons learnt from the existing contracts, stakeholder feedback and external review documents, including the fifty fourth report from the Public Accounts Committee.
The new contracts include over 400 substantive changes that will provide a more accessible and easy to navigate system which ensures the safety, security and welfare of service users and their host communities. These changes will include a longer mobilisation and transition period; improved data quality and sharing with providers and a more robust contract compliance regime to improve accommodation standards.