‘Enormous opportunity’: Extend Homes for Ukraine scheme to include Afghan refugees, Tory MPs tell Gove

Ministers urged ‘build on the extraordinary wave of goodwill’ shown by British public following launch of Ukraine sponsorship scheme

Britain’s Homes for Ukraine scheme should be extended to Afghans, ministers have been told, with Conservative MPs describing it as an “enormous opportunity” to shift the country’s approach to refugees.

The government should “build on the extraordinary wave of goodwill” shown by the British public following the launch of the sponsorship programme, which allows Ukrainians to be hosted by UK residents, to speed up the resettlement of thousands of Afghans evacuated from Kabul last summer, Conservative MPs and civic society groups have said.

Around 14,000 Afghan nationals were evacuated from the country last August following the Taliban takeover and brought to the UK under a scheme dubbed Operation Warm Welcome. Some 12,000 are still in hotels waiting to be placed in permanent accommodation at a cost to the taxpayer of £1.2m per day.

The Homes for Ukraine scheme, launched on 18 March, has seen more than 150,000 members of the British public come forward and offer to accommodate Ukrainian refugees who have been forced to flee their homes due to Vladimir Putin’s invasion.

Refugees minister Richard Harrington confirmed on Monday that around 20,000 applications had so far been received under the scheme.

In an open letter to minister for levelling up Michael Gove, more than 60 politicians, think tanks and charities say the numbers offering to host will likely surpass the number of Ukrainians who seek refuge in the UK, and that the “welcoming spirit” should therefore be extended to Afghans.

The letter, whose signatories include Tory MPs Robert Buckland, Damian Green and Johnny Mercer, proposes a “Homes for Afghans” plan, which it says will “shift Britain’s approach to refugees and build solid and sustained foundations for a new era of welcoming refugees in Britain”.

It comes as The Independent’s Refugees Welcome campaign, which calls on ministers to offer sanctuary to as many people as possible, has attracted more than 221,000 signatures from members of the public.

A Homes for Afghans action plan, drawn up by think tanks More in Common and British Future, states “The level of generosity and previously untapped commitment towards refugees represents an enormous opportunity – not just in terms of how we play our part in helping Ukraine, but also in reshaping our approach to welcoming refugees in the future.”

It proposes that a new taskforce is set up to develop workable solutions that can be “rapidly deployed” to house Afghans, and that it would have a mandate to hold officials to account in ensuring that those currently stuck in hotel accommodation are properly housed within 100 days.

The plan also proposes a “long-term UK commitment to resettlement”, which would welcome at least 10,000 people a year alongside an expanded community sponsorship programme.

“This would enable better planning nationally and locally of how to make welcoming work for those who come to Britain and the communities they join, as part of a sustained new era of welcoming in Britain,” the letter to Mr Gove states.

Damian Green MP, Conservative MP and former first secretary of state, said: “This is the time to use the generosity of spirit being shown by so many people to Ukrainian refugees to set up a long-term scheme to allow for planned resettlement of refugees.

“This will be more humane, more efficient and cheaper for the taxpayer in the long run.”

Johnny Mercer MP, Conservative MP and former defence minister, said he welcomed the “important initiative”, adding: “In my first tour in Afghanistan in 2006, I commanded a company of 32 Afghans. I persuaded them to fight. We went there as part of a UK mission, serving British interests and the British government.

“I cannot stress this enough: we owe a duty of care to provide clear routes for refugees and a warm welcome when Afghans get here […] More urgency is needed from the British government. I have no doubt that the British public will back this.”

Sunder Katwala, director of British Future, said that while there were “different challenges in finding homes for the two groups”, the plans set out to Mr Gove would link up the schemes to “harness support from business, civic society and local government to speed up homes for Afghans too”.

“The surge of public empathy for Ukraine is not limited to one group of refugees. We owe a debt of honour to the Afghans evacuated from Kabul last summer too,” he added.

A government spokesperson said: “We have seen the immense generosity of the British public through the incredible response to our Homes for Ukraine scheme. Though not everyone who expressed an interest will ultimately be able to house someone, we are grateful to everyone who has expressed an interest in providing support those fleeing persecution.

“We’re proud to have provided homes for more than 4,000 Afghan evacuees so far and continue to explore options to find them more permanent accommodation.”

The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered. To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here. To sign the petition click here. If you would like to donate then please click here for our GoFundMe page.