Refugees: Rented Housing

(asked on 8th November 2021) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what specific sites have been identified to provide rented housing for (1) Afghan refugees coming to the UK under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), (2) other newly accepted refugees, and (3) British Overseas Nationals from Hong Kong.


Answered by
Baroness Williams of Trafford Portrait
Baroness Williams of Trafford
Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
This question was answered on 22nd November 2021

The Home Office works with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), as well as other Government departments, on the provision of support, including housing, for refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

For those resettled through UK Resettlement Schemes, local authorities are provided with funding to support their welcome and integration. Before committing to offering resettlement places a local authority should think about whether they have, or are able to put in place, the accommodation and support needed to ensure the appropriate care and resettlement of people in need of our help.

Afghans who have been evacuated before, during and since Operation Pitting are being look after as set out in the funding package of 13 September 2021

Local authorities assist newly granted refugees with finding accommodation. Migrant Help also provide support to newly granted refugees following a positive decision via the AIRE (Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility) contract.

Those arriving in the UK on the British National (Overseas) [BN(O)] visas are free to choose where to settle in the UK. BN(O) status holders should be able to demonstrate self-sufficiency with the UK for a period of six months as a prerequisite to the visa being granted. DLUHC, have provided practical advice to BN(O)s through an online Welcome Pack on settling in the UK, which includes guidance (in English and Cantonese) on renting and buying accommodation. DLUHC have also written to landlord and letting agent representatives to raise awareness of the BN(O) visa route, further supporting BN(O) status holders to access accommodation.

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