Charities and politicians have welcomed the Home Office's decision to double the number of days refugees have to find homes before being kicked out of asylum accommodation.
The Government responded to persistent calls to extend the migration period, the period during which people who have been given the right to remain in the UK are given housing and income before being removed from hotels and other forms of asylum accommodation. facing. Rising rates of refugee homelessness.
In a letter seen by the Guardian, the Home Office said newly recognized refugees would have between 28 and 56 days to find another home before being removed from asylum accommodation. The changes will take effect on Monday and run until June 2025. Assessments will be conducted during this period and will be used to “support future decisions regarding the 'transition' process”.
Charities and politicians called the announcement a “very positive step” for the start of the winter season, but called on the Home Office to make the changes permanent.
Veteran Labor MP and former child refugee Alf Dubbs said the changes were a “good thing” giving refugees “a better chance, if not a perfect chance, of avoiding homelessness”.
He further added: “We want it to be long-term, and we also want to know how it will work and whether it will cover the whole country or just a part of the country. We'd like to know more about it. Fundamentally, that's a good thing, but we'd like to see it become a permanent feature.”
Labour's Ruth Lister, who is sponsoring a private member's bill to make the 56-day transition period permanent, said the announcement was “very welcome”. She said the 28-day relocation period “leads to homelessness, destitution and dire conditions during what should be a period of joy.”
She added: “However, this is only an interim measure and I will continue to support the permanent 56th as this is a long-standing systemic problem that I and others have been campaigning for for 10 years.” “We will seek a transition,” he added.
Deirdre Costigan, Labor MP for Ealing, said: “Where people have a right to be here, they should not be on the streets. This welcome pilot scheme will reduce the use of asylum hotels and reduce the number of sleeping “It will help reduce the shortage.”
Crisis chief executive Matt Downey said: “This is a very positive step by the UK Government and shows a real commitment to getting back on track in tackling homelessness.” It is important that this becomes a permanent change next year to ensure that refugees who have been granted settlement status do not end up homeless in the future. ”
Refugee homelessness peaked in December last year, with 51% of rough sleepers leaving asylum accommodation, an increase of nearly 1,000% since July of the same year. Prison escapees usually rank high on this list.
The jump in numbers came after the Home Office reduced migration periods from 28 days to around seven days last August, a change reportedly at the request of then Immigration Secretary Robert Jenrick. This was done by
Last December, the seven-day journey was extended to 28 days, following an outcry from charities who were forced to hand out tents to homeless refugees in need. But charities and councils said they were still grappling with the issue and called for a further extension to the transition period.
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Enver Solomon, CEO of the Refugee Council, said: “It is really positive that the Government is running a pilot initiative to give refugees more time to get on with their lives.
“But it is equally important that people receive the right documents at the right time, and that should be at the start of the transition period. Without this safeguard, people who came to this country seeking safety We remain concerned that people will continue to become homeless as a result of bad practices.”
Phil Kelly, chief executive of New Horizons Youth Centre, a London-based homeless charity for 16 to 24-year-olds, said: 'The homelessness sector has been calling for this change for over a year. The timing of this announcement is welcome as services scramble to find the few housing options available over the coming winter.”
Sean Palmer, executive director of strategy and transformation at St Mungo's, said the charity's frontline team continued to meet with refugees who were sleeping rough.
He said: “This temporary measure by the Home Office, for which we have been campaigning for many years, is an important step towards ending homelessness and towards a safe and stable future.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “This is a limited-time pilot to support local authorities in clearing the backlog of asylum applications and transitioning to electronic visas. You will receive a notification to move out of the asylum.
“We have inherited huge pressures on the asylum system and remain committed to increasing the return of unsuccessful asylum seekers and eliminating the use of hotels.”
