Lack of coherent resettlement plan could hinder councils

The current plan to resettle Afghan refugees has come under fire from councils who say they have been left ‘scrambling’ to meet the urgent needs of new arrivals due to a ‘lack of clarity’ from central government.

According to the Independent, which has seen a letter sent from labour minister to Home Secretary Priti Patel and Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick, the government has been told it must ‘step up and play its role in providing national coordination, leadership and support’ to local authorities receiving Afghan arrivals, warning of ‘substantial challenges’ for these refugees if it fails to do so.

The UK has evacuated 15,000 people from Kabul over the last fortnight – including 5,000 British nationals and more than 8,000 Afghans who worked for the UK and their families, as well as many highly vulnerable people. Hundreds had already prior to this under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy, which opened in June.

All arrivals are required to spend 10 days in hotel quarantine, and are usually then moved to what are called holding hotels while local authorities find permanent housing for them.

The letter raises concern about the ‘large number of refugees’ the Home Office has placed in hotel accommodation, ‘sometimes for many months at a time, without prior notice or engagement, without giving prior notice to or having engagement with local councils’.