Over 60 organisations urge Government to reinstate 56-day ‘move-on’ period for single adult refugees

Homeless Link and the No Accommodation Network (NACCOM), together with over 60 other organisations in the homelessness and migrant rights sectors, have warned that recent changes to the 'move-on' period for newly recognised refugees will lead to higher levels of homelessness and rough sleeping.

Image credit: UK GovernmentIn a joint letter to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Housing Secretary Steve Reed, the organisations urged ministers to reinstate a pilot scheme that gave all newly recognised refugees 56 days to transition away from Home Office asylum support and accommodation instead of the usual 28 days. The pilot scheme commenced last December and was expected to run until the end of this year. In late August, however, the Government announced it would end the scheme for single adults from 1 September, returning to a 28-day move-on period.

Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit (GMIAU) published a helpful explainer about the changes here. It notes that the 56-day move-on period still applies to some groups, including pregnant women, families with children, disabled people, and people over 65. This will remain in place until the end of the year, when the policy is scheduled to be reviewed again.

The letter, coordinated by Homeless Link and NACCOM, says that reducing the transition period for single refugees will increase homelessness and rough sleeping at a time when racist and anti-migrant sentiment is on the rise, putting refugees at even greater risk of harm on the streets and exacerbating community tensions.

According to the signatories, the pilot helped reduce homelessness rates and supported refugees to integrate into communities more successfully. They said there was no clear rationale to end it for single adults with such short notice.

The letter states: "The emerging evidence we have, including testimony from our respective member organisations and from a survey NACCOM conducted of its members, indicates that the 56-day pilot has helped reduce rates of homelessness and enabled more people to successfully move on from Home Office accommodation and begin to integrate and participate in their communities. This helps alleviate pressures on costly homelessness interventions and other public services, and paves the way for people to make a positive start to their lives in this country. The Government committed to understanding the impact of the pilot through a full evaluation due to conclude at the end of this year, but have now reverted to 28-days for a significant cohort of people before considering and publishing their own evidence."

The organisations called on ministers to reinstate the 56-day move-on period for single adult refugees and allow the pilot evaluation to be completed before making further changes.

Homeless Link's chief executive suggested the Government was bowing to public pressure and anti-migrant rhetoric, warning the reversal would not satisfy critics and would only add to the challenges and costs faced by overstretched homelessness services and local authorities.

The Refugee and Migrant Forum of Essex and London (RAMFEL) said last month that the Government's decision was "appalling and short-sighted" and it risked greatly undermining social cohesion at a time of inflamed and heightened tensions. RAMFEL added: "Whilst we understand that this government is trying to reduce hotel use, this is certainly not the way to do it. This is an illogical and cruel decision, which will undoubtedly lead to more negative outcomes for new refugees who want to integrate into the UK and move on with their lives."

As reported by BBC News last month, the Government defended its decision by saying it was taking practical steps to fix the broken asylum and immigration system it had inherited, and it would continue to work with local councils, NGOs and other stakeholders to ensure any necessary assistance is provided for those individuals who are granted refugee status.