Fears Afghan families could be left homeless after being told to leave Scarborough hotel
A deadline to leave temporary accommodation runs out today (August 16th)
Last updated 16th Aug 2023
A charity fears Afghan refugees living in a hotel in Scarborough could be left homeless, as a deadline for them to leave hits.
The 23 people arrived in the UK as part of a resettlement scheme following the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan two years ago.
The Refugee Council claims they have been told to leave by the Government, who served eviction notices earlier this year.
Léa Corban, who is from the group, said: "They were given quite short notice that they were going to be evicted from this hotel.
"It was an extremely stressful time because even though these hotels aren't good places to be staying long term, it's the only accommodation that they've been offered."
North Yorkshire Council has confirmed it is helping with relocation, to minimise numbers still in the hotel on "closure day".
Some of the Afghan families are still waiting to hear from London authorities where they want to relocate to over whether they will accept a homelessness duty on the grounds that they have a local connection with relatives living in those areas.
North Yorkshire Council has made homelessness referrals for several families and others are waiting to hear back from local authorities elsewhere or are planning to present as homeless in other parts of the country.
Those working with the refugees say there is a risk as other councils could decide the refugees “local connection” is insufficient.
North Yorkshire Council’s corporate director of community development, Nic Harne, said: “We have received housing applications for three households, which is a total of nine individuals who were at risk of being made homeless at the end of this month.
“We want to reassure people that the council will provide temporary accommodation for the households as required. Where families have been accepted for homelessness support, we will support them in finding a permanent home.”
Organisations working with the refugees have emphasised the situation is not as grave as it appeared in May, when 90 refugees were living in the hotel, due to a huge amount of effort taking place behind the scenes.
They say progress has been made due to partnership working between the Home Office, Refugee Council, Beam Homeless Social Enterprise, the JobCentre, and North Yorkshire Council to overcome barriers, such as the two child benefit cap, to secure private rented properties and jobs for the families.
A Government move to provide up to £7,000 per refugee to fund accommodation has also been credited with helping Afghan families access suitable housing.
A government spokesperson said:
“Hotels are not, and were never designed to be, long-term accommodation and it is not in Afghans’ best interests to be living in hotel accommodation for months or years on end.
“We've seen good progress with Afghans leaving hotels, with 10,500 Afghans so far provided with homes. We will continue to provide extensive support, backed by £285 million of new funding to speed up the resettlement of Afghans into permanent accommodation.”