LONDON: The British refugees minister has urged local councils across the country to help rehouse the 10,500 Afghans who are currently living in hotels that are costing taxpayers millions of dollars every week.
Lord Harrington, a Conservative peer, told councils that the government had fewer than 100 appropriate properties available in June, but expected more than 500 arrivals each month as the country’s relocation scheme continues to operate.
Several Afghans told the BBC that living in hotels had prevented them from settling in their new country.
“I know this is costing the British people but for what?” an Afghan refugee said to the BBC’s Newsnight program.
The refugee, Mohammad, continued: “I want to settle and integrate but how can I when we are living in a hotel for months and months? I can’t start my life properly.”
Mohammad, who is in his 40s, had supported the British Army during its operations in Afghanistan. He fled with his wife and two children to Britain last year after Kabul was overrun by the Taliban.
He added that his family of four had been sharing one hotel room since September, putting enormous strain on them, especially his wife.
“I don’t blame her (for struggling) because I know the situation. She is in that room for one year with two kids. These are kids, and she is depressed, so things are not good,” he told the BBC.
The Local Government Association said that refugees were being housed in hotels until appropriate and sufficient housing was found.
It added that the government provides councils with more than ?20,000 ($24,300) per person that they rehouse over three years to support their integration into the local community.
Councils are expected to find housing for Afghans, but many are struggling amid severely limited stock.
While the Home Office says it has found housing for 7,000 Afghans, Lord Harrington said in June that it needs to find another 2,000 homes to resettle some 10,500 on the waiting list.
The BBC reported that there are still some 9,500 Afghans needing accommodation in August.
Newsnight, the BBC’s leading UK current affairs and news program, said it had been informed that the Home Office is planning to extend the hotel scheme for another year with some councils.
Lord Harrington wrote in June that one of the reasons the government was struggling was because more than 500 four-bedroom houses were needed due to the size of Afghan families, which are larger on average than British families.
The government, Lord Harrington said, was working with various stakeholders, including developers and housing website Rightmove, to find more adequate housing.
The Home Office said in a statement that it faced a “challenge” of low supply of council housing, “not just for Afghans and those in need of protection but also British citizens who are also on a waiting list for homes.”
It added: “While hotels do not provide a long-term solution, they do offer safe, secure and clean accommodation.”