Afghan refugees moved out of hotels now homeless

Afghan families fixed refuge by the UK are facing homelessness aft being told by the authorities to determination retired of hotels, councils person told the BBC.

The families, galore of whom worked for the British government, came to the UK aft the Taliban takeover successful 2021.

Thousands are inactive surviving successful impermanent government-funded edifice accommodation - but are present starting to beryllium moved out.

Those that tin not find imperishable homes volition beryllium classed arsenic stateless and the work of section councils.

Councils accidental immoderate families person already presented arsenic stateless this week. The Local Government Association (LGA) said 1 successful 5 Afghans leaving hotels were presenting to section authorities arsenic homeless.

One authorization successful Essex said that it had 9 families present facing homelessness.

They fearfulness much volition follow, putting unit connected already squeezed section authorities, who person ineligible work to find accommodation for stateless people.

The families were fixed 3 months announcement successful April to permission the hotels.

The Home Office said it had provided backing to councils to assistance with the modulation and was moving schemes to assistance much Afghan families find imperishable household homes.

A spokesperson said: "Hotels are not, and were ne'er designed to be, semipermanent accommodation for Afghans resettled successful the UK and it is not successful their champion interests to beryllium surviving successful edifice accommodation for months oregon years connected end.

"That is wherefore we person announced a plan, backed by £285m of caller funding, to velocity up the resettlement of Afghan nationals into semipermanent homes.

"Extensive authorities enactment is disposable and we volition proceed to bash each we tin to assistance Afghan families arsenic they rebuild their lives here."

Councils accidental the authorities backing is not capable and though accommodation volition beryllium recovered for the refugees, it whitethorn mean they person to determination hundreds of miles to different hotels.

Stephen Robinson, the Liberal Democrat person of Chelmsford City Council, said his lodging officers had to find accommodation for 9 Afghan families, totalling 60 people.

"They were offered the accidental to travel to the UK due to the fact that of their loyalty to the British authorities and they person been stuck successful hotels for the past year, 18 months, and present they are being moved out," helium told BBC News.

The families had highly qualified radical who wanted to lend to British society, helium added, and had recovered enactment and schools for their children.

"They are each becoming stateless adjacent week and we person a statutory work to enactment them into impermanent accommodation," helium said.

The assembly already has to woody with 430 stateless households successful Chelmsford, said Mr Robinson, and determination was a deficiency of accommodation.

"We warned the authorities that this would beryllium a occupation and they conscionable covered their ears. They didn't privation to deliberation astir the extremity game," helium told the BBC.

"We person a motivation work to those who worked for the British authorities to look aft them decently and we have, arsenic a country, this government, has fto them down."

Shaun Davies, a councillor and president of the Local Government Association, said councils shared the Home Office's determination to get Afghan families retired of hotels and into imperishable homes.

He added, however, that section authorities were already seeing families presenting arsenic homeless.

"It is incorrect that immoderate families are having to permission Home Office-funded hotels lone to past extremity up having to determination into impermanent accommodation.

"With grounds numbers of households already surviving successful impermanent accommodation and an acute shortage of lodging crossed the country, this is adding immense unit onto councils connected the crushed and disruption and distress for families, immoderate of whom are peculiarly vulnerable.

"This concern is apt to worsen importantly arsenic the Home Office stops paying for the remaining bridging hotels for Afghan families successful the coming days and weeks."

He said the authorities should proceed to wage for edifice places for those families struggling to find accommodation.

He warned that hotels should not beryllium closed to Afghan refugees lone to "switch to becoming hotels for different caller arrivals".

Councils should beryllium allowed to proceed to absorption connected uncovering Afghan families homes and schools, helium added.

Labour MP Dan Jarvis, a erstwhile worker who served successful Afghanistan, said the thought Afghans were being "forced to go homeless" was "shameful".

"These are not economical migrants - these are Afghans who placed themselves successful mortal peril successful bid to service alongside British forces successful Afghanistan, and they did truthful astatine our request," helium told the BBC.