of respecting their family life. Moreover, while providing accommodation to the applicant, the competent authorities, namely the department of Social Perception and Solidarity of the Ministry of Labour, shall take, to the extent possible, all adequate measures to keep the applicant’s family that is present on the Greek territory together, with the applicant’s consent. After one year, applicants must be given support in finding an adequate private place of living. Each Accommodation Centre shall operate on the basis of its internal regulation establishing the “house rules”. Housing in Accommodation Centres must ensure the protection of private life and access to adequate medical and health services. One of the ways in which the Greek Action Plan aims at improving reception conditions is through the provision of social, psychological, medical and pharmaceutical care, giving emphasis to vulnerable cases. To that end, the employment of an adequate number of various experts such as doctors, psychologists and social workers is envisaged. Further, the authorities competent to receive and accommodate asylum seekers, namely the Services of the Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity and the persons responsible for the management of Accommodation Centers must ensure that the right to family life and to personal security are protected within those centers. They also must ensure that applicants have access to relatives, legal advisors, nongovernmental organizations and representatives of the UNHCR. Staff working in Accommodation Centers must be adequately trained through seminars offered by the UNHCR, the Ministry for Health and Social Solidarity or other specialized organizations. Staff shall be bound by the confidentiality principle in relation to any personal information they obtain in the course of, or on the occasion of, their work in the Accommodation Centers. Legal advisors or lawyers and representatives of the UNHCR must have unlimited access to Accommodation Centers and other housing facilities in order to assist applicants. The Director of the Center may grant access to other persons as well. Limitations to such access may be imposed only on grounds relating to the security of the Accommodation Centers and housing facilities and of the applicants themselves. The Greek Action Plan provides for the safe and timely transportation of unaccompanied minors from entry points to accommodation structures. In addition, the Central Authority shall make sure that the transfer of asylum applicants from one accommodation centre to another takes place only when necessary. In case asylum seekers are being transferred to another accommodation centre, the Services of the Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity, authorities competent to receive and accommodate, must ensure that applicants are able to inform their legal counsellors of the transfer and of their new address. Applicants whose application is finally rejected or who receive a deportation order shall be obliged to leave the Accommodation Centre within maximum 30 calendar days. Exceptionally, the above mentioned Services may provide accommodation in a hotel or another suitable place if it is not possible to house an applicant in an Accommodation Centre for reasons of capacity and the applicant is neither detained nor restricted in a border post. However, in all cases, the basic needs of the applicant must be covered. There is no financial allowance in practice to cover the living expenses of asylum-seekers in Greece. Reports suggest that significant numbers of asylum-seekers, including persons transferred back to Greece under the Dublin Regulation mainly before the M.S.S. v. Greece and Belgium judgment are left 65 unassisted, homeless or end up in overpriced and overcrowded shared rooms. People who are not accommodated in accommodation centres also face serious obstacles in gaining access to services including health care and education, among others. There are fifteen reception centres in Greece according to the latest report by UNHCR in the following locations and numbers: Crete (1), Volos (2), Lesvos island (1), Oraiokastro, Salonika (1), Konitsa (1), Attika region (6), Alexandroupoli (1), Lavrio (1) as well as apartments in Athens, Salonika and Lesvos. 65 For further information see also the reports of missions recently conducted by the Greek Council for Refugees in Lesvos, Thrace, Leros, Agathonissi and Kos. See Greek Council for Refugees, Mission report Lesvos (31/12/2012 – 3/11/2012); Thrace Report – October 2012; GCR Mission Leros – Agathonissi – Kos (22 September 2012 – 24 September 2012). 40