A UK council is planning to spend over £7 million on a resettlement scheme providing homes for refugees. Arun District Council in Sussex will purchase 18 properties as part of the programme, which is designed to help resettle Afghan refugees and provide temporary accommodation for the homeless.
Details of the Scheme
Eight of the homes would be used to house refugees currently staying in bridging hotels, with the other 10 earmarked as temporary accommodation. Four of the eight properties allocated to refugees would be larger, four-bedroom homes designed to suit the needs of respective households, according to The Argus.
The total cost of the project is estimated to be £7.465 million, with £3 million provided through the Government's Local Authority Housing Fund.
Affordable Rent and Future Use
The homes would be made available to support general housing need after the refugees had been resettled, it is understood. The properties obtained under the plans would also be let at affordable rent levels, set at 80% of market rates including service charges.
Background of the Afghan Resettlement Programme
The Afghan Resettlement Programme was launched by the Conservative Government in 2021 to give newly-arrived refugees access to homes, schooling, medical care and work support.
Political Reactions
Unlike Arun District Council, which is run by a Liberal Democrat, Labour, Green and Independent alliance, local authorities controlled by Reform UK have pledged to withdraw from the scheme, alleging that it pushes British people to the back of the queue.
Reform's Home Affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf denounced the programme for "only serving to prioritise recent arrivals and foreign nationals ahead of the British public" last month.
Joshua Roberts, cabinet member for communities at Reform-run Lanarkshire Council, said the administration was moving to exit the scheme in a bid for "fairness".
"We're calling on the Labour Government to stop placing refugees in Lanarkshire and instead redirect public funds to better support our vulnerable residents and veterans," he added.
Critics dismissed the move as a "stunt", however, since it wouldn't stop the schemes from operating but instead divert the housing allocation to other parts of the country.
