Asylum seeker evictions must end – it’s a matter of honour, not just money

Editorial: It is not beyond the wit of the government to match labour supply and demand

The most likely outcome is that the Afghans, having been thrown out of one hotel by the Home Office, are then billeted in another by the council (PA)

It is difficult to understand what the government hopes to achieve by evicting some 8,000 Afghan refugees who are currently staying in hotels. Obviously they cost the taxpayer money, and the implications of their presence are sometimes misrepresented by those with sinister motives, causing concern in local communities.

It is hardly ideal from the asylum seekers’ point of view, either. They want nothing more than to work and make a future for themselves and their families. Yet summary eviction, with little chance of their finding alternative accommodation, will prove counterproductive, and promises to actually increase tensions by putting them in competition with others looking for housing. It is as if ministers were trying deliberately to stir up trouble: to be clear, that cannot be their serious intent, but it may well prove to be the entirely predictable result of their policy.

What is to become of these people? They are already presenting themselves, legitimately, as unintentionally homeless to local authorities, who lack the resources to help. The most likely outcome is that the Afghans, having been thrown out of one hotel by the Home Office, are then billeted in another by the council. Alternatively, they may find space in a B&B. The net saving to the public purse will be minimal, and the less settled people are, the less chance they will have of acquiring skills for employment – an economic contribution that is desperately required given the present acute shortage of labour. Living in temporary digs – or worse still, sleeping rough – is bad for their health and for the wider community.