LONDON: Thousands of Afghan asylum-seekers in the UK will face a homelessness “crisis” if the Home Office presses ahead with plans to evict them from hotels.
Earlier this year, the government said 8,000 Afghans would be forced to leave temporary accommodation across the country by August.
However, the deadline for removal of government financial support, as well as a shortage of houses, mean many of those could end up on the streets without the ability to support themselves.
The Local Government Association has warned that the timeframe for evicting Afghans from hotels is too short, and that local councils are struggling to find housing for them.
In May, councils were told they would receive £35 million to prevent asylum-seekers leaving hotels from becoming homeless, and £250 million was set aside by the government for homes for Afghans leaving temporary accommodation.
A Home Office spokesperson said hotels “were never designed to be suitable long-term accommodation” for “Afghans resettled in the UK.”
The spokesperson added: “Where available, the government will continue to make offers of suitable housing, which we strongly encourage Afghan families to accept. Where an offer cannot be made or is rejected, increased government support is available to help Afghans find their own homes and begin rebuilding their lives here.”
However, a group of 250 Afghan families in hotels in West Sussex received a notice in May telling them: “If possession (of their accommodation) is not delivered up by the Notice Expiry Date, you will be a trespasser, and the Secretary of State for the Home Department shall be at liberty to evict you from the Property.”
LGA Chairman Shaun Davies will address the association’s annual conference on Tuesday and will say: “Councils have a proud history of stepping up and supporting asylum-seekers and refugees to settle in the UK and rebuild their lives. But combined pressures from government asylum and resettlement schemes are growing on councils.
“We are at crisis point. We want to work with the government to get this right, not just in a way that best supports the people arriving in the UK, but also tackles the unsustainable pressures on our local services and on our communities.”
The LGA annual meeting will also discuss funding for Ukrainian refugees in the UK, as well as the effects of the government’s Illegal Migration Bill, which, among other things, will give authorities the power to deport anyone who arrives in the UK illegally regardless of their circumstances.
Last week, a key part of the new legislation, which would allow the government to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda to await the outcomes of their applications, was ruled unlawful by the Court of Appeal.
Courtesy: arabnews
