Committee publication · Correspondence · 23 February 2026
Letter from the Second Permanent Secretary at the Home Office relating to a follow-up to the Committee’s evidence session 19 January 2026 on the Analysis of the Asylum System, 06 February 2026
From: Public Accounts Committee
Inquiry: An analysis of the asylum system
Summary
Simon Ridley, Second Permanent Secretary at the Home Office, writes to the Public Accounts Committee following its 19 January 2026 evidence session on the asylum system. He provides clarifications on the newly established Asylum System Board's composition and governance, updates on the Northeye site disposal, asylum caseload data, monitoring methods, system integration plans, accommodation policy, staff attrition, and contract management arrangements.
Key findings
- A new cross-government Asylum System Board, chaired by Director General Rannia Leontaridi, meets every six weeks and includes senior representatives from Ministry of Justice, Housing, Defence, Treasury, No 10, and Cabinet Office to coordinate asylum system performance.
- The Northeye site at Bexhill will be transferred to Homes England to deliver up to 240 houses; lessons learned include bringing in commercial specialists, Property and Compliance expertise, and improving due diligence on large sites.
- As of end June 2023, there were just over 41,000 Failed Asylum Seekers in the system; asylum-related returns increased 27% (11,231 returns) in the year to 31 October 2025 compared to 8,863 in the prior 12-month period.
- The Atlas caseworking system is fully rolled out with legacy CID decommissioned; integration with HMCTS is planned for Spring 2026 to introduce a 24-week statutory appeals timeframe; no plans exist for a Unique Application Number due to impracticability.
- Government policy commits to ending hotel use for asylum accommodation to reduce pull factors and community tension; an independent review of asylum accommodation and contract management, led by a Non-Executive Director at Ministry of Justice, has been commissioned.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Simon Ridley CB, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Rannia Leontaridi, Serco, Mears, Clearsprings Ready Homes, Homes England, Public Accounts Committee
Notable line
“The newly established Asylum Group, led by Director General Rannia Leontaridi, is responsible for the end-to-end performance of the asylum system and implementation of the changes that the Government has set out.”
Key Quotes
“We have established the new cross-government Asylum System Board to bring together all the government departments with responsibility for any aspects of the asylum system.”
“Of the total returns between 1 November 2024 and 31 October 2025, 11,231 were asylum- related returns.”
“Hotels can act as a 'pull' factor for asylum seekers to come to the UK and we have also seen that they can cause community tension.”
“Large sites serve the public better than hotels by providing a more controlled, secure, and purpose-built environment for asylum accommodation.”
“… the annual attrition rate of Asylum Decision Makers to December 2025 is 22% (rounded to the nearest whole figure). This is the lowest reported point since 2020/21.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗