Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of Afghan refugees who arrived in the UK since 15 August 2021 are living in hotel accommodation as on 2 September 2022.

Afghans resettling in the UK under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) will be supported in accessing accommodation and the vital health, education, and support into employment they need, to fully integrate into society.

The Department for Education have confirmed that individuals resettling under these schemes who wish to access higher education, are eligible for home fee status and student support from the 2022/23 academic year – putting them on the same footing as refugees. At this time, the Home Office is working to improve the data it holds on those who have accessed higher education among those being temporarily accommodated in hotels.

All children who were evacuated during Op Pitting have been enrolled in school - and school places are offered on a rolling basis, as more children arrive in the UK. .

As stated in the recently published, 'Afghan Resettlement: Operational Data' factsheet, at 12 Aug 2022, the UK:

• Has welcomed 21,450 people to the UK from Afghanistan - or a neighbouring country - since June 2021. Whilst we believe that around half of this number are children, we are unable, at this time, to provide an accurate breakdown of arrivals by age, in order to determine how many children are in full-time education.

• Is providing temporary accommodation for 9,667 people in hotels.

Officials are working at pace to assure information relating to the individuals resettling in the UK under our bespoke schemes for Afghans on case working systems. Once this work concludes, the Home Office will include Afghan resettlement statistics in its quarterly Immigration Statistics publications.

Until then the factsheet will be updated every quarter – with the next iteration scheduled for publication on 24 November 2022.