Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the process is for a local authority to move an evacuated Afghan family from the hotel accommodation they have been placed in into a home that has been found by the local authority and meets the family’s needs.

We are working at pace across government and with local authorities to source appropriate accommodation for Afghan families who were evacuated to the UK. The emergency circumstances of Operation Pitting meant that we were not able to secure long term accommodation for people as we would have liked before they flew to the UK.

Once properties are identified and referred to the Home Office, a matching exercise is undertaken which allows us to offer the property to a suitable family. Where possible, we will match families from local bridging hotels allowing them to remain in the area where they may have started to form connections and settle.

The local authority provide a formal occupancy date and arrangements are made to transport the family into their new home. The process of matching homes to families requires careful attention to detail but we are working to move people as quickly as possible when properties become available.