Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if the Government will take steps to ensure that Afghans brought to the UK through the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy are found permanent accommodation as soon as possible.

We currently have over 12,000 people in bridging hotel accommodation.

We do not want to keep people in temporary accommodation any longer than they need to be, we are eager for them to be moved into more permanent settled accommodation so that they can begin to rebuild their lives here in the UK.

Due to an unprecedented cross-government effort, and in partnership with local authorities and the private rented sector, we have already matched or are matching approximately 4,000 evacuees to homes.

We strive to allocate the right families into the right accommodation to ensure that their integration into their new communities in the UK is as smooth as possible. We are exploring all options to ensure families who move out of bridging hotels into self-arranged accommodation receive the appropriate support

To achieve this, we triage and prioritise families to ensure the settled accommodation provides the best possible match.

We would like to encourage Local Authorities who have not yet pledged support to consider offering to do so. People are encouraged to submit housing offers via the DLUHC Housing portal where offers can be signposted to the appropriate LA to consider if they could support a family under the scheme using that property - https://gov.uk/government/publications/afghanistan-housing-portal-offers-of-support…

In addition to the work we are doing with local authorities, the Government has extended the Community Sponsorship Scheme so that local community groups will be able to directly support an Afghan family resettled through the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme which will commence soon.

Afghans recognised as having a legal right to reside in the UK are immediately entitled to access essential services including education, NHS healthcare, employment opportunities and universal credit.