Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Afghan refugees were housed in interim hotel accommodation as of (a) 5 December 2023, (b) 12 December 2023, (c) 19 December 2023, (d) 26 December 2023 and (e) 31 December 2023.

The UK made an ambitious and generous commitment to help resettle Afghans fleeing persecution and those who served in the UK. Since June 2021, we have brought 24,500 people to safety to the UK.

1,674 people, around half of whom are children, were living in interim accommodation (i.e., hotels/serviced accommodation) at the end of September 2023.

For information on individuals within interim accommodation, including nationality, age, and sex breakdowns, see table Asy_D02 of the asylum and resettlement detailed datasets: Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

For data on those in accommodation by location, see the regional and local authority immigration groups data tables.

We are unable to provide a running commentary on interim accommodation and settled accommodation occupation. The next release of Afghan Operational Data is due for release around 22 February 2024.

Local authorities receive integration tariff funding of £20,520 per person, over three years, for each Afghan family they resettle and provide full integration support for this duration.  They have the flexibility to use this funding to contribute towards renting accommodation, including deposit, letting fees and necessary furnishings.