Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to identify long-term solutions for the provision of accommodation for refugees, in the context of increasing use of hotel accommodation.

The Government is working with local authorities across the UK to meet the demand for housing.

We have been working as fast as possible to support Afghan families into homes of their own, so that they can settle into their local communities and independent and rebuild their lives in the UK

Local Authorities who support people through the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) or the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) will receive £20,520 per person, over 3 years, for resettlement and integration costs. They have the flexibility to use this funding to contribute towards renting accommodation, including deposit, letting fees and necessary furnishings.

Once an asylum seeker has received refugee status, they are eligible to work, receive mainstream benefits and accommodation which should be provided by the local authority.

For other resettlement schemes the first 12 months of a refugee’s resettlement costs are funded by central government.