Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will provide an estimate of the likely timescales for Afghan people resettled to the UK under the (a) ARAP scheme and (b) ACRS scheme and who are currently living in bridging accommodation to be re-housed.

We do not want to keep people in temporary accommodation for any longer than is absolutely necessary. We have moved – or are in the process of moving - over 6,000 people into homes since June 2021. There is a huge effort underway to support the families into permanent homes as soon as we can so they can settle and rebuild their lives, and to ensure those still temporarily accommodated in hotels are given the best start to their life in the UK.

The length of time a family will remain in bridging hotels is dependent on several factors including sufficient offers of appropriate housing by local authorities. We strive to allocate the right families into the right accommodation to ensure their integration into their new communities in the UK is as smooth as possible. To achieve this, we triage and prioritise families to ensure the settled accommodation provides the best possible match, taking into consideration date of arrival into the UK, family size, vulnerability and integration factors.