Since 2013, NACCOM has gathered data from our members through our Annual Survey, which enables us to track the scale and impact of destitution in the asylum and immigration system across the network.    

This comprehensive data helps us to better understand and evidence the type of accommodation and support our members are providing across the UK, who the NACCOM network is supporting and what their needs are, and how responses to destitution are evolving each year. The information gathered underpins our advocacy and policy work, helping us to shape campaigns that will push for change to the policies that cause destitution. 

The main findings from last year’s survey were presented in our Impact Report, and UK-wide Annual Survey data briefing. During the year, the data has been used extensively in key policy and advocacy work, including as part of evidence submitted to the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR), the Home Office National Asylum Stakeholder Forum (NASF), the Commission on the Integration of Refugees, and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), amongst others.  

We also worked with partners and used the data to help inform and shape campaigns across health, anti-poverty and homelessness sectors to share concerns and make a case for reform, as well as highlighting key findings through our media work. 

Once again, the survey will be open to both Full Members (who provide accommodation) and Associate Members (who provide other support services) – with a completion deadline of Friday 28th July.  

Leon Elliott, NACCOM’s Policy and Research Co-ordinator, said: 

“A priority for NACCOM in the year ahead is to help our members prepare for, and mitigate the impacts of, the Illegal Migration Bill. To do this, we will need to understand the services that our members are currently providing – both to help us evaluate how they might be affected by the changes introduced in the Bill, and to spot solutions from within the network. Meanwhile, as we expect that the Bill will result in more destitution and homelessness, having strong evidence of the harmful impacts of the current asylum and immigration system will help us to continue to campaign against the Bill, as well as other harmful policies that drive destitution and homelessness.” 

“We know that the past 12-months have been difficult for a lot of members, with the cost-of-living crisis and on-going housing crisis in many areas placing additional pressures on services themselves and on the people that they support, which we expect to bare out in this year’s data. NACCOM will continue to use evidence from the survey to fly the flag for the vital services that our members deliver, and to campaign for the changes needed to ensure that sustainable housing pathways and move-on opportunities exist for people seeking asylum and other migrants.” 

 “The roll– out of full dispersal, and the Home Office’s ongoing attempts to find unsuitable, unsafe, and inappropriate forms of asylum accommodation, continue to create new need, in new areas of the UK. Once again, we will be surveying both Full and Associate members in an attempt to get a more complete map of the organisations working to support people out of destitution – and to highlight areas where there is a shortfall of services. Following a pilot last year, we will also be publishing regional briefings using data from the Annual Survey, which we hope will help members to make the evidence case for their services locally.”

“Finally, for this year’s survey we have introduced some additional questions to help us learn more about the asylum and immigration legal services that our members offer. The evidence will be used to feed into ongoing advocacy on the legal aid crisis, with the hopes of increasing advice capacity both within the network and outside of it.” 

I hope that all members can complete the Annual Survey this year, and come Autumn, I look forward to sharing evidence of the collective impact that the NACCOM network has had for so many people over the past twelve-months.”   

What does the survey look like?

The survey covers the type and amount of accommodation and support members offer, as well as questions on some key focus areas, including referrals and move-on outcomes.  The survey questions are linked to NACCOM’s current goals to end destitution:  

Goal 1.  Supporting members to become more sustainable and effective to increase the number of people they accommodate.  

Goal 2.  Enabling those with lived experience to share their insight and experiences so that working in partnership with NACCOM and other organisations, the human face of destitution has a raised profile and their opinions inform our work.  

Goal 3.  Tackle the root causes of destitution through policy, lobbying and awareness raising.  

How can I use/access the data from the NACCOM Annual Survey?  

The headline data from the 2023 Annual Survey will be published in our annual Impact Report later this year at our AGM and Annual Conference (November), alongside a data bulletin, both of which are fully public and will be available to download from our website. For enquiries about accessing the full data set please contact [email protected]. 

How can my organisation take part in the survey?

The survey is for NACCOM members only. If you are a NACCOM member you should have been sent an email directly with all the relevant information.  

Please contact [email protected] if you have not already received your survey, or if you require any support in completing the survey.   

You will receive a copy of the information your organisation has submitted, and we would be happy to share information from previous Annual Surveys with you, if that is useful to you.  

The deadline for the survey is 28th July and we do hope you are able to get involved. Please let Leon know if you have any thoughts about this process or would like to arrange a phone call to discuss the survey in more detail.