A parliamentary report about accommodation services for asylum seekers has highlighted key problems in the provision of housing especially in meeting the needs of vulnerable people like victims of trafficking.

The Home Affairs Select Committee has reported that many vulnerable asylum seekers are being housed in unsuitable accommodation sometimes being required to share a bedroom, or live in large multi-occupancy houses with unrelated asylum seekers of the opposite gender. For women who have experienced sexual exploitation, being asked to live in a flat with men they do not know can be intensely distressing.

The report also identified problems with some accommodation including dirty carpets and infestations of mice, rats and bedbugs. These insanitary conditions can provoke stress and anxiety in addition to the health risks for vulnerable asylum seekers such as pregnant women and those suffering with mental or physical illness (including many victims of trafficking).

One of the Committee’s key conclusions is that the system of providing accommodation for asylum seekers simply does not take adequate account of whether or not the accommodation is suitable for vulnerable people.

The Committee recommends the system should be changed so that, both at the point of allocating a person with accommodation and in the monitoring and inspection of accommodation, the needs and wellbeing of vulnerable people are taken into account, including victims of trafficking.

CARE welcomes the Committee’s report and its recommendations that the needs of trafficking victims should be given greater consideration in the asylum accommodation system. Victims of trafficking who seek asylum are moved out of specialist safe houses into general asylum accommodation at an early stage – before the end of their guaranteed 45 day reflection and recovery period. It is shocking that instead of being a place of safety, the accommodation provided could be the cause of further trauma and distress. We urge the Government to respond swiftly to the Committee’s recommendations and ensure that the needs and wellbeing of vulnerable people receives greater priority in the provision of asylum accommodation.

The report makes a number of other recommendations for improving the asylum accommodation system and can be found on the parliament website.