Rebecca Ebony Goulbourne
A crisis meeting at 10 Downing Street on 8 June heard that around 8,000 Afghan refugees residing under Operation Warm Welcome (OWW) in the UK will face eviction this summer. Plagued by a fear of homelessness, these refugees have nowhere to go.
‘Temporary’ Support for Afghan Refugees in UK
Following an announcement by the UK government, thousands of Afghan refugees residing in the UK are set to face homelessness during August. 8,000 refugees who entered the country in 2021 are being forced to leave hotels in line with the government’s fast approaching deadline to move all refugees out of temporary accommodation, as reported by The Guardian.
This temporary ‘bridging’ accommodation is provided by two government resettlement schemes – the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) – to ensure that all Afghan refugees were given safe accommodation upon their arrival.
The Home Office’s Immigration Policy
The Conservative Government are currently bombarded with issues regarding immigration. Rishi Sunak’s Illegal Migration Bill, which aims to deter unlawful migration, is one which has been accused of breaching numerous international human rights duties, as well as disregarding a significant amount of refugees that arrive in the UK.
”8,000 asylum seekers, who currently remain in hotels, to be removed from their accommodation”
A number of Home Office officials attended the council meeting on this matter, highlighting ‘inexpensive’ housing options which would see around 8,000 asylum seekers who currently remain in hotels to be removed from their accommodation. In total, around 50,000 refugees are staying in temporary housing or hotels as they await the outcome of their application for refugee status.
“many conservative MPs and councillors are beginning to question the use of taxpayers’ money to convert abandoned facilities into refugee centres”
While his office insist that no refugees are being removed from their temporary accommodation, the PM has announced that the government now possess additional barges which could house around 1,000 people.
Why Homelessness Now?
Following pressure from conservative MPs and councillors, The Home Office announced that the government is committed to ending the overuse of taxpayers’ money on hotels and temporary accommodation for asylum seekers coming to the UK.
“According to the Home Office, the upkeep of refugees costs around £3 billion a year.”
Therefore, new ‘vessels’ and housing sites will be sought out in the following weeks, providing that they are more inexpensive means of housing refugees.
According to the Home Office, the upkeep of refugees costs around £3 billion a year, which is a figure the Home Office sees as necessary to reduce significantly over the next year. However, this evidently leaves a large amount of uncertainty amongst some of the UKs most vulnerable.
Should We Have Trusted The Government’s Resettlement Scheme?
The UK government have shown welcoming arms to an estimated 24,000 Afghans since the Taliban gained power in Afghanistan in 2021. It is now apparent that almost 8,000 of those refugees, including children, still continue to live within temporary ‘bridging’ housing in several locations across the UK.
This isn’t the first time the UK’s Home Office has broken promises to the general public and to those with refugee status in the UK.
”The high court announced that the former military Napier barracks used to house asylum seekers, situated in Folkstone, was deemed unfit for human habitation.”
In June 2021, the House of Lords committee warned of the mass amounts of overcrowding, fire risks, and unsanitary housing standards provided to refugees and asylum seekers. As a result, the high court announced that the Napier barracks in Folkstone, a former army base used to house asylum seekers, was deemed unfit for human habitation.
This is only one recent instance of the conservative’s failure to properly and securely house asylum seekers within UK shores. It becomes plausible to question whether the current conservative party can continue to be trusted with such matters.
The Home Office and PM have yet to comment further on the upcoming housing transition for those affected.
READ NEXT:
- IS THERE A EUROPEAN REFUGEE CRISIS, OR A RACISM CRISIS?
- UNDERSTANDING ENGLAND’S HOMELESSNESS CRISIS
- THE AFGHAN RESETTLEMENT SCHEME: A ‘MORAL DUTY’ TO OUR ‘AFGHAN FRIENDS’ OR A WATERED-DOWN AND BROKEN PROMISE?
Featured image courtesy of Ahmed Akacha on Pexels. No changes were made to this image. Image license found here.
Rebecca Goulbourne
Undergrad English student with an intense passion for storytelling, writing, and critical thinking.