Homelessness fears as Afghan refugees to be moved from hotels to houses

A refugee charity is “deeply concerned” about reports that thousands of Afghans could be forced out of hotels under government plans set to be announced on Tuesday.

Between 8,000 and 9,000 Afghan refugees are staying in hotels in the UK after fleeing the Taliban in 2021. They will be offered permanent homes and given a few months’ notice to move.

The plan does not apply to those who are living in hotels managed by the Home Office, although an announcement is expected on this next week.

Those who are not allocated a home or decline an offer of one could be forced to present to local councils as homeless, it is feared.

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, 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.

“This is not how those who were promised a warm welcome in the UK should be treated.”

He added: "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.”

"To expect councils to suddenly move them out of hotels by putting pressure of Afghan families risks causing great misery and anxiety for those who have already experienced trauma and upheaval."

Further details of the plan were set to be announced by Johnny Mercer, the veterans’ minister, in the Commons later on Tuesday, The Times reports.

Thousands of Afghan refugees, many of whom risked their lives working for the UK, arrived here following the Taliban takeover of their country.

The Taliban claimed victory in Afghanistan in August 2021 after the US-led coalition announced its withdrawal.

Kabul, the Afghan capital, quickly descended into chaos as residents and foreign nationals tried to escape rule by the religious fundamentalists.

The Taliban has since ordered sweeping rollbacks of women’s rights as part of a series of moves aimed at enforcing the group’s heterodox conservatism.

More than 20,000 Afghans have resettled in the UK since fleeing the country and many are still trying to escape, although they face obstacles in doing so.

Earlier in March, The Independent revealed that desperate Afghans trying to escape to the UK were told they could come here safely only if their paperwork had been approved by the Taliban.

Charities said Afghans were being put in danger, with one MP saying they were effectively being asked to “sign their own death warrant”.

The Ministry of Defence initially denied the practice but later admitted it was wrong and apologised, after our investigation.

Earlier this week, The Independent revealed that an Afghan war veteran who served alongside British armed forces was among those to have fled to the UK on a small boat and was being threatened with deportation to Rwanda.

Figures provided to the Commons Home Affairs Committee last year showed that £5.6 million a day was being spent on hotels for people who have arrived in the UK and have submitted an asylum claim, with £1.2 million paid to house Afghan refugees who fled the country after the fall of Kabul.

According to The Daily Telegraph, the government plans, to be announced on Tuesday, will come with funding of £750m.

The first hotel eviction notices will be sent out within weeks and Afghans will be offered accommodation in former military bases and potentially ferries.