Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they take to ensure that adequate housing is available for all refugees throughout the UK.

Our resettlement schemes offer a safe and legal route to the UK for vulnerable refugees in need of protection. We work on a daily basis with local government to ensure we meet our international and statutory obligations to provide accommodation for all refugees.

Before committing to offer resettlement places, a local authority needs to think about whether they have, or are able to put in place, the accommodation and support needed to ensure the appropriate care and resettlement of people in need of our help.

For all Afghan nationals seeking accommodation through the various Afghan refugee pathways, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) have created a Housing Portal to make it easier for councils to assess the suitability of properties prior to contacting landlords. Offers of property are triaged by DLUHC and sent directly to councils. We are also looking at ways to make more suitable homes available in the private rental sector by engaging with landlords, letting agencies and industry bodies to promote the housing portal and encourage participation in the resettlement programme. We are also working with the estate agent, Rightmove, to identify potential properties available in the private rental sector.

DLUHC have also introduced the Find Your Own Accommodation scheme which empowers Afghan families to source their own accommodation, rather than the Home Office. They will need to secure agreement, from their new local authority, that they will continue to receive ongoing integration support from them, once they have moved into their new home.

Migrant Help provide support to service users following a positive decision via the AIRE (Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility) contract. Positive move on advice is designed to help service users to integrate into the UK. Migrant Help provide advice and information on the steps service users need to take to secure access to accommodation, mainstream welfare payments and employment, when someone leaves Home Office support and/or accommodation, following a grant of asylum or some other form of leave. Migrant Help offer both telephone and face to face appointments to help service users understand their circumstances and signpost to relevant organisations.