Let us all live with dignity – we all deserve a home
Lisa Matthews, Policy & Campaign Manager, 6th June 2024
When dramatic policy changes are announced that affect the lives, safety and wellbeing of the young people we work with, we have to step up and deal with that emergency situation. That’s what happened when the Home Office suddenly started detaining people for purported removals to Rwanda. The young people we were working with were scared, and we were scared for them. As an organisation, we had to make sure we were keeping on top of the almost daily changes in approach from the Home Office, and making sure we had accurate information to reassure and protect young people who were asking all of our delivery staff questions about what this meant for them. And yet, in the middle of that emergency, the other crises that people seeking safety faced didn’t disappear. Rwanda and the general election inevitably garnered headlines, but at the same time, the shameful situation of newly-granted refugees facing street homelessness continued.
As we wrote about earlier this year, the granting of refugee status after months and years of limbo should be a moment of celebration but has become, for many, a nightmare. Having been granted legal protection, newly-granted refugees are given just 28 days to try to find somewhere to live. Many do not succeed, as the rough sleeping statistics show – and an increasing number of refugees face sleeping on the streets or in precarious and often risky, exploitative situations.
The government’s mismanagement (resulting in a huge backlog of asylum cases that have not been progressed for many months and even years; then making large numbers of decisions in a very short period) created a crisis, as NACCOM’s analysis of homelessness indicators shows:
The total number of households owed a prevention duty after leaving Home Office accommodation in England in October-December of 2023 (1,830), was 173% higher than in the same period of 2022 (670). Meanwhile, the number of households owed a relief duty rose by 363%, from 1,060 to 5,140, in the same period.
Chronically underfunded homelessness services and organisations cannot cope – our Caseworkers continue to advocate tirelessly for young people facing homelessness, but we need policy change to solve this problem. That’s why we and other organisations are calling for an increase in the move-on period to find a new place to live to be increased from 28 days to 56 days, in line with the minimum time recognised to be needed in the Homelessness Prevention Act.
In addition, it’s essential that local authorities receive adequate funding in order that they can take preventative action – increasing the move-on period will only have limited impact in stopping homelessness if local authorities do not have the capacity to do anything until the day that move-on period ends.
Newly-granted refugees are in a particularly difficult position in terms of accessing housing beyond that provided by local authorities. In almost all circumstances, people seeking asylum are prevented from working while they wait for a decision on their claim. This means they face significant disadvantages in finding work once they do have their claims accepted, and do not have the money needed to secure the vast majority of options in private-rented accommodation. That’s why we support the campaign to Lift the Ban on work for people seeking asylum.
Other solutions include centralised funds to help refugees with private-rented accommodation deposits (for example, provided by the Mayor of London’s office, as suggested in Refugee Council’s recent report); getting rid of the benefit cap as called for by Shelter; and addressing the unfairness of reduced local housing allowance rate for under 35s.
We’re proud members of the Homes4All coalition, and look forward to working together for positive change in the months ahead. With a new government around the corner, above all we need dignified and decent housing for all. We want to live well together as neighbours and as communities, so we all can thrive.