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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/mar/28/uk-to-evict-thousands-of-afghan-refugees-from-hotels
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| UK to evict thousands of Afghan refugees from hotels | UK to evict thousands of Afghan refugees from hotels |
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| Refugees to be given a few months’ notice to vacate hotels and offered alternative accommodation | Refugees to be given a few months’ notice to vacate hotels and offered alternative accommodation |
| Afghan refugees in the UK are to be moved from hotels and offered alternative accommodation, raising fears they could become homeless. | |
| Downing Street has confirmed a new package will be announced to move Afghan refugees out of “hotel bridging accommodation” and into new homes. | |
| Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman said the prime minister has asked veterans’ affairs minister Johnny Mercer to “outline the new package of measures to accelerate efforts to help those currently in hotel bridging accommodation into new homes”. | |
| Mercer is expected to make the an announcement to the House of Commons on Tuesday. | |
| A government source told the Guardian the plan is to move move all Afghan families out of hotels by the end of this year. | |
| Enver Solomon, the chief executive of Refugee Council, said there were concerns the move could lead to homelessness. | Enver Solomon, the chief executive of Refugee Council, said there were concerns the move could lead to homelessness. |
| “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,” he 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,” he said. |
| “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.” | “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.” |
| The Cabinet Office, under which Mercer’s role sits, declined to comment before Mercer’s statement and the Home Office, responsible for migration policy, has been approached for comment. | The Cabinet Office, under which Mercer’s role sits, declined to comment before Mercer’s statement and the Home Office, responsible for migration policy, has been approached for comment. |
| There are almost 9,000 Afghans living in hotels in the UK after fleeing the Taliban in August 2021. | There are almost 9,000 Afghans living in hotels in the UK after fleeing the Taliban in August 2021. |
| Peymana Assad, a Labour councillor of Afghan origin from Harrow in north-west London, who has worked closely with Afghan refugees in hotels, said the government was to blame for people being stuck in hotels, not the refugees. | Peymana Assad, a Labour councillor of Afghan origin from Harrow in north-west London, who has worked closely with Afghan refugees in hotels, said the government was to blame for people being stuck in hotels, not the refugees. |
| “For the past year, the Conservative government has put the blame at the feet of Afghan refugees for continuing to be in hotels nearly two years on since evacuation. Yet the Conservative government are the ones who’ve failed on the promises they made to these families,” she said. | “For the past year, the Conservative government has put the blame at the feet of Afghan refugees for continuing to be in hotels nearly two years on since evacuation. Yet the Conservative government are the ones who’ve failed on the promises they made to these families,” she said. |
| “With no proper plan in place to house Afghans, they have wasted taxpayers’ money on hotels, held Afghan refugee lives in limbo, caused untold damage to the mental wellbeing of individuals who stood side by side with British troops in Afghanistan, to then in the end throw these Afghan families out into the wilderness of homelessness, in the country they were brought to, not out of choice but necessity.” | “With no proper plan in place to house Afghans, they have wasted taxpayers’ money on hotels, held Afghan refugee lives in limbo, caused untold damage to the mental wellbeing of individuals who stood side by side with British troops in Afghanistan, to then in the end throw these Afghan families out into the wilderness of homelessness, in the country they were brought to, not out of choice but necessity.” |
| Downing Street denied Afghan refugees will be kicked out of hotels and said the new package is about finding them “settled accommodation”. | |
| Sunak’s official spokesman said: “This is about how we’re accelerating support for Afghans who have been forced to remain in hotel accommodation for sometimes more than a year. | |
| “We’ve made a large commitment to them to support them in the UK to make a new life here and this will be the next stage of that. | |
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| “We do think it is right to help them into settled accommodation, there will be a significant package of support that sits behind them to both help them to find accommodation and to help them fully integrate into their new community.” | |
| The announcement is related to but separate from the issue of asylum seekers held in hotels as they await the outcome of their application for refugee status in the UK, of which there are approximately 50,000. It has been reported that two military bases, RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire and RAF Wethersfield in Essex, have been pencilled as potential sites to house them. | |
| Figures provided to the Commons home affairs committee last year showed that £5.6m a day was being spent on hotels for people who have arrived in the UK and have submitted an asylum claim, with £1.2m paid to house Afghan refugees who fled the Taliban. | Figures provided to the Commons home affairs committee last year showed that £5.6m a day was being spent on hotels for people who have arrived in the UK and have submitted an asylum claim, with £1.2m paid to house Afghan refugees who fled the Taliban. |
| The reports come as the UK government pushes its deeply controversial illegal migration bill through parliament. | The reports come as the UK government pushes its deeply controversial illegal migration bill through parliament. |
| On Monday, ministers appeared poised to give way to Conservative MPs by removing more safeguards from the legislation, as the Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights warned that the proposals, even as they stood, risked being incompatible with international law. | On Monday, ministers appeared poised to give way to Conservative MPs by removing more safeguards from the legislation, as the Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights warned that the proposals, even as they stood, risked being incompatible with international law. |
| MPs on the right of the party, led by Bill Cash and Danny Kruger, have proposed a series of amendments intended to reduce the legal avenues for asylum seekers and refugees who face being deported to Rwanda and elsewhere. | MPs on the right of the party, led by Bill Cash and Danny Kruger, have proposed a series of amendments intended to reduce the legal avenues for asylum seekers and refugees who face being deported to Rwanda and elsewhere. |
| One amendment would block judges from granting injunctions to stop deportations, while others would seek to limit the scope of relevant parts of the European convention on human rights. | One amendment would block judges from granting injunctions to stop deportations, while others would seek to limit the scope of relevant parts of the European convention on human rights. |
| Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, sought to assuage Tory rebels by promising close engagement with them and stressing the final bill would be robust. | Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, sought to assuage Tory rebels by promising close engagement with them and stressing the final bill would be robust. |
| Earlier in the week, a report suggested the home secretary, Suella Braverman, had been covertly supporting the rebels. Asked on Monday if she was acting as a “sock puppet”, the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, largely dodged the question. | Earlier in the week, a report suggested the home secretary, Suella Braverman, had been covertly supporting the rebels. Asked on Monday if she was acting as a “sock puppet”, the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, largely dodged the question. |