28 March 2023 , 09:57
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Ministers were today accused of giving Afghan refugees the "cold shoulder" after announcing they are to give them deadlines to move out of government-provided hotels - or face being evicted.
The Government announced today that around 8,000 refugees from the Taliban-controlled country will be given three months' notice.
Campaigners have voiced concerns that some Afghan refugees, who fled to the UK following the fall of Kabul in the summer of 2021, could become homeless.
Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer, who announced the move in the Commons today, could only say that “the ambition is that nobody is homeless throughout this process”.
He added: “We are going to implement our commitment to the people of Afghanistan. And I don't make any bones about it that that's an easy thing to do. We are going to throw everything we've got at it [to] integrate these people into UK society.”
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Mr Mercer attempted to praise Operation Warm Welcome, which relocated Afghans, but at the same time admitted there was an "unacceptable" situation with Afghans still being housed in hotels.
Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer (www.parliamentlive.tv)Shadow Defence Secretary John Healey said: “This nation, as the Minister said, promised those who put their lives at risk to serve alongside our armed forces in Afghanistan that we would relocate them.
“We would settle them. We would give their families safety. We would help them rebuild their lives. And this obligation is felt most fiercely by those who served in our forces in Afghanistan.
“Never mind, Operation Warm Welcome. Never mind the warm words from the minister today. He's confirmed that the Government has given them the cold shoulder.
“He’s serving eviction notices on 8,000 Afghans, half of whom are children, with no guarantee they'll be offered a suitable settled place to live.”
Mr Healey also pointed out that just 258 homes had been turned down by Afghans - a figure which Mr Mercer, on the other hand, claimed was unacceptable.
Mr Mercer committed £35million of new funding to enable local authorities to provide support for Afghan households to move into settled accommodation across England.
The local authority housing fund will also receive £250million, with the majority of the additional funding being used to house Afghans and the rest to ease existing homelessness pressures, he said.
Mr Mercer said: “Operation Warm Welcome has ensured that all those relocated to the UK to safe and legal routes have been able to access the vital health, education and employment sport they need to integrate into our society.
He said the use of hotel accommodation was intended to be “temporary solution” but admitted that while 9,000 have been supported into second homes, 8,000 remain in hotels.
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“My colleagues have indicated that this is an unacceptable and unsustainable situation. The government shares that view. I personally share that view, and it needs to change.
“I am today announcing the Government's intention to step up our support to help resettled and relocated Afghans access independent settled accommodation and end the use of hotel bridging accommodation for this cohort.
Shadow Defence Secretary John Healey (www.parliamentlive.tv)“We will begin writing to individuals and families accommodated in Afghan bridging hotels at the end of April and they will be provided with at least three months' notice about when their access to bridging accommodation will end.”
Figures provided to the Commons Home Affairs Committee last year showed that £5.6 million a day was being spent on hotels for people who have arrived in the UK and have submitted an asylum claim.
Around £1.2million is paid to house Afghan refugees who fled the Taliban.
Enver Solomon, CEO of the Refugee Council, said: “We are deeply concerned about many elements of these plans, in particular the risk that they could lead to people who fled the Taliban in Afghanistan being left homeless and destitute on the streets of Britain.
"This is not how those who were promised a warm welcome in the UK should be treated.
“Hotels are not the right place for refugees to live but the fact that thousands of Afghans have been left in them for months on end is a consequence of government mismanagement and a failure to work successfully in partnership with local councils and other agencies to find suitable housing.
“To expect councils to suddenly move them out of hotels by putting pressure of Afghan families risks causing great misery and anxiety for those who have already experienced trauma and upheaval.”
The Taliban seized back control of Kabul in August 2021 (AFP via Getty Images)A spokesman for the Local Government Association said: “Councils share ambitions to move people from hotels and will continue to work closely with individuals and families over the coming months with local partners to help Afghan families find permanent homes.
“To ensure we do not see a further rise in homelessness as a result of a chronic shortage of properties across the UK and increase current significant pressures on homelessness teams, councils will need sufficient resources and flexibilities to assist with finding and funding accommodation, particularly for larger families. A place based approach is also needed which takes into account pressures on local services and from other programmes.
“We will continue working with government to tackle the current shortage of accommodation across local communities and on the need for coordination of local arrangements so councils can provide families and individuals with certainty and support.
“Councils also need to be involved alongside health, schools and childcare, transport, police and their communities for any new sites for asylum seekers so these are properly planned, fairly distributed across the UK and any new arrivals kept safe and supported."
Alex Fraser, the British Red Cross’s UK director for refugee support and restoring family links, said: “Our concern is that the pace of this proposal will add pressure on already overstretched local authorities and that many families could be left without accommodation after three months.
“Making sure people can have a say in any plans that will impact them directly will be critical in the coming weeks and months.
“We want families to feel supported as they move into their own homes and to make sure they are not moved far away, especially where they have found work and their children are already in school.”
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