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Home Office announces it will not evict asylum seekers during coronavirus crisis
The Home Office has announced that it will not evict asylum seekers from its accommodation for an initial period of three months during the coronavirus outbreak.
In a letter sent to the British Red Cross, Home Office minister Chris Philp said: “The prime minister was clear on Monday 23 March that we must do all we can to ensure that people remain in their homes and do not travel or move around unnecessarily, adding additional measures to support that.
“To that end, I have taken the decision that, for the next three months, we will not be requiring people to leave our accommodation because their asylum claim or appeal has been finally decided.”
Typically, the Home Office provides accommodation for asylum seekers while a decision is being made on their claim.
If an asylum seeker’s claim is successful, they are normally required to access mainstream support services, for example through their local authority’s housing department. Unsuccessful applications usually become ineligible for any support.
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However, under the new changes neither of these groups will now be asked to leave their accommodation for the next three months. Ministers will review this decision before the end of June.
Mr Philp said he expected the move would relieve pressure on local authorities, but added that it is “likely to mean that the support asylum population will grow, as new asylum seekers enter the system and require housing”.
He wrote: “I hope you will appreciate that some hard choices have to be made and that we will not always be able to accommodate new asylum seekers entering the system in the areas that might in other circumstances best fit their needs.
“In particular, it is unlikely that we will be able to accommodate these cases in London or some of our other large cities. Similarly, we are unlikely to be able to agree to relocation requests from those already being accommodated.”
In response to the letter, Alex Fraser, UK director of refugee support and restoring family links at the British Red Cross, said: “It’s very welcome news that the Home Office will temporarily halt all evictions from asylum accommodation.
“Nobody should be at risk of homelessness and destitution, and this is an important first step to ensuring that people are able to protect themselves, their families and their communities.
“As charities and community groups that traditionally provide vital support to people seeking asylum are having to adjust their services in response to current restrictions, it’s right that the UK government has taken this decision to safeguard the accommodation of nearly 50,000 people.”
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