Home Office trial doubles time refugees have to find home before eviction | Immigration and asylum
Charities and politicians hailed a Home office a process that will double the number of days refugees have to find a home before being kicked out of places of refuge.
The government faced constant calls to increase the relocation period, the time people granted the right to remain in the UK are given to find a home and income before being evicted from hotels and other forms of asylum accommodation, following a sharp rise in the number of homeless refugees.
In a letter seen by the Guardian, the Home Office said newly recognized refugees would have 56 days to find another home before being evicted from asylum sites, compared with 28 days.
The change will take effect on Monday and will be in place until June 2025. An evaluation will be carried out during this period and will be used to “support future decisions around the ‘continuation’ process”.
Charities and politicians called the announcement a “hugely positive step” at the start of the winter months, but called on the Home Office to make the change permanent.
Labor veteran and former child refugee Alf Dubs called the change “a good thing” that would give refugees “a better chance of avoiding homelessness, although not a full chance”.
He added: “We want this to be a longer-term thing. I would also like to know more about the details of how it will work and whether it will cover the entire country or just a part of the country. In general, this is a good thing, but we’d like to see it become a permanent feature.
Labor peer Ruth Lister, who sponsored a private member’s bill to make the 56-day relocation period permanent, called the announcement “very welcome”. She said the 28-day relocation period “results in homelessness, destitution and misery in what should be a time of joy”.
She added: “However, this is only a temporary measure and I will continue to push for a permanent move to 56 days as this is a long-standing, systemic problem that I and others have been campaigning on for a decade.”
Deirdre Costigan, Labor MP for Ealing Southall, said: “Where people have a right to be here, they should not end up on the street and this welcome pilot scheme will help reduce the use of refuge hotels and reduce rough sleep.”
Matt Downey, chief executive of Crisis, said: “This is a hugely positive step from the UK Government and shows a real commitment to getting us back on track to tackle homelessness. It is important that this becomes a permanent change over the next year if we are to ensure that refugees granted settled status do not face homelessness in the future.
Refugee homelessness peaked last December, when shelter leavers accounted for 51% of rough sleepers who left an institution, a nearly 1,000% increase from July of that year. Those who have left prison are usually at the top of this list.
The rising figures came after the Home Office reduced the relocation period from 28 days to around seven last August, a change reportedly made at the request of then-immigration minister Robert Jerrick.
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After outrage from overworked charities that were forced to hand out tents for homeless refugees seeking assistance, the seven-day relocation period was increased back to 28 days last December. However, charities and councils said they were still grappling with the problem and called for the relocation period to be extended further.
Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “It is really positive that the Government is introducing a pilot project to give refugees more time to get on with their lives.
“But it is equally important that people get the right documents at the right time, which should be at the start of the moving period. Without this protection, we remain concerned that people who have come to this country in search of safety will continue to be left homeless as a result of poor practice.
Phil Carey, chief executive of New Horizon Youth Centre, a London-based charity for homeless people aged 16 to 24, said: “The homelessness sector has been calling for this change for over a year. The timing of this announcement is welcome as many services like ours struggle to find what small housing options there are in the coming winter months.’
Sean Palmer, executive director of strategy and transformation at St Mungo’s, said the charity’s frontline teams continue to encounter refugees sleeping rough.
He said: “This interim measure from the Home Office – which we have been campaigning for for several years – is a significant step away from homelessness and towards a safe and stable future.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “This is a time-limited pilot project to support local authorities as we clear the backlog of asylum applications and move to e-visas. Only newly recognized refugees will be given 56 days’ notice to move from their asylum accommodation.
“We have inherited huge pressures in the asylum system and remain absolutely committed to ending the use of hotels while increasing the return of unsuccessful asylum seekers.”
