Government Considers Launching "Homes for Afghans" Scheme in UK

New Relocation Scheme for Afghans

The new scheme was put forward by the immigration minister, Robert Jenrick, in parliament.

Similarly to the “Homes for Ukraine” scheme, UK residents would be able to volunteer to house Afghan refugees who have come to the UK through official routes.

This scheme would be a possible next step for the 8,000 Afghan refugees who are currently staying in hotels across the UK. Many of them are due to be evicted in August of this year due to a government deadline.

Support from Members of Parliament

The scheme drew general support from other members of parliament.

The Labour MP Debbie Abrahams stated that: “We have hundreds of civilians who would like to have a Homes for Afghans scheme. These people are waiting and have already volunteered.

“This is a scheme ready and is equivalent to the Homes for Ukraine. So I really would urge the government to take us up on this and make sure that these supposed safe routes are actual safe routes.”

The UK has housed over 124,000 Ukrainians since the start of the Ukranian conflict in February 2022.

Illegal Migration Bill

The plans were mentioned by Jenrick during an intense session in the House of Commons debating changes to the controversial Illegal Migration Bill.

Among the issues debated were amendments to the bill that would prevent victims of modern slavery from being deported from the UK, as well as the treatment of unaccompanied children who come to the UK to seek asylum.

In a voting session on Tuesday, members of the House of Commons eventually voted to overturn potential amendments to the bill that were originally proposed by the House of Lords.

The bill will now continue to be passed between the House of Lords and House of Commons until an agreement on amendments can be reached.