Wednesday, September 01, 2021
Councils warn of lack of clarity on resettling Afghan refugees
I suppose a government that is fundamentally opposed to letting asylum seekers and refugees into our country can't be blamed when they get it wrong on a cohort they have to admit, but it doesnt help those individuals fleeing the Taliban nor does it do anything for the authorities tasked with the resettlement process.
The Independent reports that the Home Office’s plan to resettle Afghan refugees has come under fire from local 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.
The paper says that in some cases, houses procured for evacuated families have remained empty for more than a week despite the Home Office saying the process would take one day while charities have said that the time Afghans spend in hotels should be as “short as possible”, as living in this setting can have a detrimental impact on their mental health:
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, coordinated by the shadow home secretary, Nick Thomas-Symonds, 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”.
It says it is “vital” that councils are given clarity “as soon as possible” on the financial support the government intends to make available for them to permanent housing for recently arrived Afghan nationals.
“Failure to work in partnership with local authorities to ensure people are placed in suitable accommodation will bring about substantial challenges for those seeking to build a new life and the local authority,” it adds.
It seems that it wasnt just the evacuation from Afghanistan that has taken the government by surprise but also the consequences arising from that. They really need to do better.
The Independent reports that the Home Office’s plan to resettle Afghan refugees has come under fire from local 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.
The paper says that in some cases, houses procured for evacuated families have remained empty for more than a week despite the Home Office saying the process would take one day while charities have said that the time Afghans spend in hotels should be as “short as possible”, as living in this setting can have a detrimental impact on their mental health:
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, coordinated by the shadow home secretary, Nick Thomas-Symonds, 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”.
It says it is “vital” that councils are given clarity “as soon as possible” on the financial support the government intends to make available for them to permanent housing for recently arrived Afghan nationals.
“Failure to work in partnership with local authorities to ensure people are placed in suitable accommodation will bring about substantial challenges for those seeking to build a new life and the local authority,” it adds.
It seems that it wasnt just the evacuation from Afghanistan that has taken the government by surprise but also the consequences arising from that. They really need to do better.
Comments:
Peter Black will always say exactly what he thinks,not just what people want to hear,that's why he will always get my support 👍😊
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Peter Black will always say exactly what he thinks,not just what people want to hear,that's why he will always get my support 👍😊
The consequences priorities that arrive from that. Those are poor housing positions (lack of social housing)where the building of them acts as an insurance policy over unforseen circumstances,the( exodus of Afghans). The facilities for them (mental health provision for stress etc) and others.
We as a population are a generous country that has come to the rescue with goods and clothing and other everyday necessities.
We as a population are a generous country that has come to the rescue with goods and clothing and other everyday necessities.
It is a pity that we are run by a government that is hell bent on cut,cut ,cut and cannot see the benefit of 'insurance policies' to cover unexpected events that councils,burdened with budget cuts have to deal with.
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