Task force formed in Essex to help resettle Afghan refugees
The group, chaired by Leader of Essex County Council, Kevin Bentley hopes to find suitable, sustainable housing for Afghan refugees across the county.
Leaders of Essex's local authorities have come together to find the right housing for Afghan refugees.
The task force, headed by Essex County Council leader Kevin Bentley, will work with councils and public sector bodies like the NHS to determine how those fleeing from the Taliban can be best integrated into the county's communities
The process of ensuring suitable and sustainable housing is not expected to be smooth sailing, says Councillor Neil Stock, leader of Tendring District Council, who also chairs the Essex Leaders and Chief Executives Group.
"Some Afghan family groups are large and not all our housing is necessarily big enough. Obviously most Afghans will want to stay near their families and friends. Managing all this extremely challenging and difficult", he adds.
The county council are hoping that their Team Essex approach, which seeks to engage all the District and Borough councils along with the concerned public service bodies, will ensure that the best homes and in turn lives can be provided to those who fleeing the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Councillor Stock acknowledges that the council should not stop at arranging housing.
"Putting a roof over their heads is the most basic thing we can do. We need to get them employment, we need to get them education and help them build a life. That is a very difficult thing to pull out of the hat" he says before adding that it requires a lot of long term thinking and involves more than the council or NHS alone.
The resettlement process has already begun with some families beginning their new lives in various parts of the county. Councillor Stock hopes that members of the communities where they are housed will welcome them with open arms.
"If you know that an Afghan family has moved into your neighbourhood then pop over and say hi, just like you would any other family.
"Be kind and let them know they've got friends", he says.
While the move to support Afghans who helped British troops in the war-torn country has been widely supported, there were some concerns that it would affect those already on council housing lists.
He says, "The brutal truth of being on a council house waiting list is that if a person comes on to the list with a greater need than you have, they will leapfrog you. That's how its always been. And while its obviously not pleasant when the person being leapfrogged is you, I think we need to step back and make provisions to give it to those who need it more."
He also estimates that the waiting lists will not be greatly affected as there are only 8000 refugees who will have to be resettled across the whole country. "I think the Great British Public will embrace these new families and welcome them into their communities. For some people they may be shuffled down the waiting lists but hopefully it won't cause too much delay for those in real need of housing", he says.