London: If the Home Office goes ahead with its plans to evict Afghan asylum seekers from hotels, thousands of people in the UK will experience a "crisis" in homelessness.
The government announced earlier this year that by August, 8,000 Afghans would have to leave their temporary homes all over the nation.
However, given the impending deadline for the removal of government financial assistance and the lack of available housing, many of them may find themselves living on the streets unable to support themselves.
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The Local Government Association has cautioned that local councils are finding it difficult to find housing for Afghans and that the timeframe for evicting them from hotels is too short.
Councils were informed in May that they would receive £35 million to prevent asylum seekers from ending up homeless, and the government set aside £250 million for homes for Afghans leaving temporary housing.
A spokesperson for the Home Office claimed that hotels "were never designed to be suitable long-term accommodation" for "Afghans resettled in the UK."
"Where available, the government will continue to offer suitable housing, which we strongly encourage Afghan families to accept," the spokesperson continued. Increased government assistance is available to help Afghans find their own homes and start rebuilding their lives here where an offer cannot be made or is rejected.
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250 Afghan families were staying in hotels in West Sussex when they received a notice in May warning them that they would be in violation of the law and could be expelled from the property if they did not give up their possession by the notice's expiration date.
Tuesday at the association's annual conference, LGA Chairman Shaun Davies will give a speech and say, "Councils have a proud history of stepping up and supporting asylum seekers and refugees to settle in the UK and rebuild their lives. However, the combined pressure from government resettlement and asylum programmes is increasing on councils.
"We are facing a crisis. We want to collaborate with the government to get this right, not only in a way that supports immigrants to the UK best, but also in a way that addresses the excessive demands on our local services and on our communities.
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The effects of the government's Illegal Migration Bill, which among other things will give authorities the power to deport anyone who enters the UK illegally regardless of their circumstances, and funding for Ukrainian refugees in the UK will also be covered at the LGA annual meeting.
The Court of Appeal ruled last week that a crucial provision of the new law, which would have permitted the government to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda while waiting for the results of their applications, was unconstitutional.