Grant to buy homes for refugees and homeless

A number of refugees fled Afghanistan after the Taliban re-took the country in 2021

A council is to use a government grant of £342,000 to buy temporary homes for Afghan refugees

North East Lincolnshire Council will use the funding to buy four properties, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said.

One of the four properties would be used for general temporary homeless accommodation

Once the Afghanis have been resettled the three others will then be used for homeless families.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has been providing funding to local authorities since the Taliban re-took power in Afghanistan in August 2021.

The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy programme helps those who could face retribution from the Taliban due to their association with international forces in the country.

A council report said the funding would allow empty homes to be brought back into use via the scheme.

According to the LDRS, the report added that there was an increased need for accommodation for homeless people in the wake of the Covid pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis.

In May, the council cited the rental market and a lack of permanent social housing for an increased use of B&B hotels to house the homeless.

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