Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what obligations local authorities have to provide state-subsidised housing to people with refugee status; and what priority they have.

Eligibility for social housing in England is tightly controlled.

If a person’s visa means that they cannot access state benefits or local authority housing assistance, they are not eligible for an allocation of social housing.

Among those eligible for social housing, priority is determined according to need. Refugees are not automatically granted a priority need.

If an asylum seeker receives a positive decision on their claim, asylum-pathway refugees have their housing needs considered on the same basis as other eligible applicants in accordance with the local authority’s housing allocation scheme.

Local authorities supporting resettled refugees who arrive in the UK via the UK Resettlement Scheme do so on a voluntary basis.

The previous government consulted on changes to social housing allocation tests. This government’s response was published on 2 September and can be found on gov.uk here.