Afghan refugees in the UK are presenting as homeless to councils after being turfed out of government hotels in “shameful” evictions.
The families, many of whom worked with or for the British government and armed forces in Afghanistan, came to the UK following the Taliban takeover in 2021.
All 8,000 Afghans living in bridging hotels were served with eviction notices by the end of May and were given three months by the government to find their own accommodation.
Now, the Local Government Association (LGA), which represents councils, has warned it was hearing reports that up to 20 per cent of those evicted have declared themselves homeless to local authorities. The hotels are being emptied in a staggered way, with those in the smaller hotels being moved out first.
Labour MP Dan Jarvis, who served in Afghanistan, described the fact that families are becoming homeless as “shameful”. He said it was reasonable to move people out of hotels, but not at the pace that the government was doing it.
He said: “These are not economic migrants. These are Afghans who placed themselves in mortal peril to serve alongside British forces in Afghanistan and they did so at our request.
“These are people to whom we’ve given an invitation to come to our country. Nobody should be homeless and these people need to be given the time and space ... to ensure that they are properly relocated.”
Speaking to Radio 4’s Today programme, he added: “There is a real risk here that we are seeing what is both morally flawed and poor public policy because homeless families are being created. We owe them a debt of gratitude, so I think what we need to do is move at a pace that sees these Afghan families transition in a way that allows local authorities the time to identify suitable accommodation.
“The notion that people are being forced to become homeless is just shameful.”
Cllr Shaun Davies, chair of the LGA, said: “Hotels have already begun to close to Afghan households across the country and - as we feared - councils are already seeing families presenting to them as homeless as a result.
“It is wrong that some families are having to leave Home Office-funded hotels only to then end up having to move into temporary accommodation.”
Cllr Davies warned that the situation “is likely to worsen significantly as the Home Office stops paying for the remaining bridging hotels for Afghan families in the coming days and weeks.”
In Northampton, a council spokesperson said that around 50 people have nowhere to go when they are evicted. There are 179 Afghans in hotels in the area who have received notice to quit by the end of August.
A spokesperson for West Northamptonshire Council told local media: “We are currently looking at around 50 individuals who do not have a viable option at the end of the rehousing process and who the council will need to assess a homelessness duty for.
“Many of these are single men so we are also exploring an additional, bespoke option based on the model of the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme.”
The Independent has been campaigning for the government to honour our debt to Afghans who supported the British military and grant them asylum in the UK.
A government spokesperson said: “Hotels are not, and were never designed to be, long-term accommodation and it is not in Afghans’ best interests to be living in hotel accommodation for months or years on end.
“We’ve seen good progress with Afghans leaving hotels, with 10,500 Afghans so far provided with homes. We will continue to provide extensive support, backed by £285 million of new funding to speed up the resettlement of Afghans into permanent accommodation.”
