Nass reform is not enough

It is be hoped that the planned regionalisation of the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) will improve communication with local authorities and other stakeholders ("Asylum: housing's story", 30 January, page 16) – even if the principal aim of the regionalisation is to improve NASS's management of private sector accommodation providers, many of whom are less than scrupulous.

But the regionalisation – now somewhat behind schedule and unlikely to be seen in more than token form before the autumn – will not provide asylum seekers or their advisers with direct, over-the-counter access to NASS. All post-dispersal casework will remain centralised in Croydon.

Additionally, the current director – whom many, including myself, initially regarded as a "new broom" – has signally failed to challenge the inward-looking and stakeholder-averse culture among senior NASS officials and also the mindset, prevalent at both senior and caseworker levels, that all asylum seekers are simply on the make and thus undeserving of support.

An end to the chaos? Don't hold your breath.