Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department (a) will take to support Afghan nationals after their six months leave to remain in the UK ends and (b) is taking to provide information, advice and support to those people in the meantime.

The Home Office has written to Afghan families advising them of the next steps to progress permanent residence in the UK.

The Home Office has established a dedicated caseworking team, which is working jointly with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Ministry of Defence. This team will contact those here in the UK under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy and those moving onto the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme, to assist them to obtain Indefinite Leave to Remain status.

While families are being accommodated in Bridging Hotel accommodation, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) is working with departments including Home Office to support people relocated to the UK through ARAP and ACRS to integrate into UK society. The Home Office are leading on supporting people in bridging accommodation, including getting people into schools, or registering with a GP for example. For the most recent update on what the Government is doing to support Afghans, please see my Dear Colleague of 23/12/21,

We also have Home Office Liaison Officers (HOLO’s) allocated to Bridging Hotel Accommodation.

The role of the HOLO is to provide both face to face support and remote support when not physically present. They are reactive to the needs of those accommodated in hotels and can provide signposting to other government departments and Local Authorities and ensure safeguarding concerns are appropriately acted upon.