Huge rise in refugees becoming homeless in England as charities slam ‘dysfunctional’ system

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The variety of homeless refugees looking for pressing housing from English councils has elevated by 239 per cent in the previous two years, evaluation reveals, prompting charities to slam the “dysfunctional system” that leaves folks dwelling on the streets in tents.

A brand new report by charity Refugee Council reveals that the variety of new refugees who’re sleeping on the streets has surged. One in 5 refugees looking for assist from their providers had been sleeping tough in 2022. But this has now risen to 2 in 5 refugees in 2023.

Asylum seekers are housed by the Home Office in lodges whereas their claims are being processed, however when they’re granted asylum they’re given 28 days to search out someplace new to stay earlier than they’re kicked out. Some can have as few as seven days to discover a new house due to delays in issuing documentation.

The variety of asylum seekers in this place has soared in latest years as the Home Office pushes to clear the asylum backlog, ensuing in a surge in newly granted refugees. Council housing providers have struggled to deal with the inflow, leaving many to sleep on the streets.

Last 12 months, between July and December, 50,845 folks had been granted asylum – the best variety of grants on file and a 400 per cent enhance in comparison with the identical interval in 2022.

Government statistics analysed by the Refugee Council charity present that in the 2 years ending September 2023, there was a 239 per cent enhance in the variety of folks requiring homeless assist from native authorities after being evicted from Home Office lodges.

Some 970 households confronted homelessness in England in the winter of 2021 after eviction from a Home Office resort, however by the autumn of 2023, this had risen to three,290 households.

The drawback is especially stark in London, which has a excessive refugee inhabitants in comparison with different areas. London councils reported a 234 per cent rise from September 2023 to January 2024 of individuals tough sleeping who had just lately left Home Office lodges. Over 90 per cent of those folks had acquired a optimistic asylum determination, which means they’ve the precise to stay, research, and work in the UK.

The findings come as the Home Office introduced that 150 asylum lodges shall be closed by the start of May – delivering on their promise to scale back the federal government’s use of momentary lodging.

Home secretary James Cleverly promised to “keep going until the last hotel is closed”.

One Sudanese refugee, Yahya, 25, waited nearly three years for a optimistic asylum determination and was then informed to go away his Home Office resort with solely per week’s discover. He was pressured to sleep tough for round 10 days earlier than discovering assist from the charity.

He mentioned: “When I received my decision, that I have leave to remain in the UK, I decided to study, to do a motor vehicle course – to be a mechanic. But after I received an eviction letter from the Home Office it was hard, I was living on the street … I had to leave the asylum accommodation in one week.”

He defined that he can be penalised if he didn’t flip as much as school so he was sleeping on the streets at night time and going to varsity in the morning. “For almost 10 days I was sleeping rough. When I was sleeping on the street, some people, they can grab your bag, when you have some important papers inside, your ID and your decision papers.

“All night I couldn’t sleep, I tied my bag to my body. I know so many refugees who are sleeping on the street, still they don’t get any help. One of my friends has been there more than a month – people from Eritrea and Sudan.”

Tom Cottam, head of coverage for the British Red Cross, mentioned: “Every day, we’re supporting people who are facing life on the streets once they get their refugee status, because they’re not given enough time to find work and housing. This includes people with physical and mental health needs.”

The British Red Cross is asking on the federal government to increase the discover interval given earlier than resort eviction to 56 days.

Between August 2023 and March 2024, 4 in 10 of the folks the British Red Cross supported with cash-based help had been dealing with destitution due to the move-on course of.

Refugee charity Care4Calais mentioned: “Habitable housing, embedded in communities, provides the best foundation for those granted refugee status, who only want to integrate into society and move forward with their lives.”

Enver Solomon, CEO of the Refugee Council, mentioned that new refugees had been being arrange “to fail from the very start”.

He added: “A mere 28 days to get on their feet and find a private tenancy with no income and no savings is completely unrealistic. This dysfunctional system is causing an entirely avoidable crisis of homelessness and destitution.”

The charity is asking on the subsequent mayor of London to arrange a fund to cowl tenancy deposits for brand new refugees in the capital, and can be asking the federal government to increase the move-on interval to no less than 56 days.

A authorities spokesperson mentioned: “Once a newly recognised refugee is issued a biometric residence permit, they get 28 days to move on from asylum accommodation.

“Support is also available through Migrant Help and their partners, which includes advice on how to access universal credit, the labour market and where to get assistance with housing.

“We are working to make sure that individuals have the right individuals they need following an asylum decision, and to help local authorities better plan as we reduce the number of asylum seekers awaiting a decision.”