London: The minister for veterans' affairs has stated that the UK has a duty to house Afghan refugees who have been told to vacate their hotel accommodations by the end of the month.

The Times reported that Johnny Mercer urged landlords to provide housing to Afghans using taxpayer-funded rental agreements due to concerns that thousands may become homeless as a result of the government order.

The programme would necessitate a "national effort" to prevent displacing vulnerable Afghan refugees, but many would have to "manage their expectations" and accept housing offers outside of desirable locations, such as London, he added.

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As part of the government's plan to eliminate hotel lodging, which can cost up to $1.25 million per day, hundreds of Afghans have rejected housing offers.

The government has set aside an additional £35 million ($44 million) for rehousing expenses as well as an additional £250 million in council aid.

I haven't met anyone who couldn't find housing, according to Mercer. They simply need to control their expectations.

Some of them, you know, want to live in an eight-bedroom house in London. That won't ever take place. I don't even call London home.

"It has to do with managing expectations. It's about providing assistance to oneself.

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The minister also said that thousands of Afghans who are still in Pakistan or Kabul are unable to travel to the UK because of the government's hotel accommodation policy, which is failing as a long-term strategy.

We can't really open the pipeline to return to the UK those who are still in Afghanistan, to whom we owe a duty, Mercer said.

Government ministers reported in March that there were still 4,300 Afghans in Afghanistan and other countries who qualified for evacuation to the UK.

Since January 2022, the UK government has spent about £15 million on lodging in Pakistan, supporting about 1,000 people in hotels across the nation.

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"We're launching this housing portal where, in essence, you can offer your lodging and you're going to get a good, consistent, regular rate, and you're also doing your part to accommodate a family from Afghanistan," said Mercer.

"Regardless of your politics or how you feel about the situation, we all need to kind of lean in and get this done for these people as a country."