This housing project claims it could save Labour millions on housing asylum seekers in hotels

Labour came into power promising to end the use of asylum hotels – so minister should probably take note of this innovative Housing First project which offers an alternative option for housing asylum seekers that costs an estimated six times less per person, per year.

The NRPF Housing First Project has been offering homes alongside support to people since 2021, led by Oxfordshire Homelessness Movement (OHM) in partnership with Connection Support, Edge Housing, Soha Housing and Asylum Welcome.

At least 50 people who cannot access state support due to their immigration status have been prevented from falling into homelessness through the project in recent years. An independent report has revealed significant cost savings when compared to the cash the government is tendering for hotels, barges and other emergency accommodation.

The project has an estimated average cost of £6,870 per person per year, covering both accommodation and support, such as work to help them with their immigration status, learning English and finding work in the future.

Considering that asylum accommodation costs an estimated £41,000 per person annually, according to research by Institute for Public Policy Research, the project supports six people for the same cost the government pays in housing asylum seekers in hotels.

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Policy Panda Research’s Julie Aitken, who authored the independent report, said: “This NRPF Housing First Project shows a way to do things differently. A way to provide support that is cost-effective and leads to lasting change and economic benefit for the UK. Most importantly, it offers a way to treat people with dignity.”

People who live under the no recourse to public funds (NRPF) condition have no access to benefits and state support while they are subject to immigration control.

The policy affects an estimated 3.5 million people in the UK and, while some people can work under the condition, it means that many face destitution or homelessness.

The Oxfordshire project opts to use the Housing First model to prevent that. Billed as a powerful solution to rough sleeping, Housing First removes barriers to getting a home, giving rough sleepers a place to live alongside support to keep it.

Providing a home offers a stable base for each person in the project to work with experts to secure their immigration status with the Home Office, paving the way for them to work and contribute to society.

One of the people currently housed by the project is Adam (not his real name), an electronics engineer from Algeria.

He originally came to the UK in 2007 as a student before returning home to Algeria. But a traumatic event saw him flee his native country and apply for asylum in the UK. After seeing his initial claim refused, he is in the process of working through a fresh claim with the Home Office.

While navigating the complexities of the asylum system, he has faced homelessness both on the street and sleeping in a van. 

He was staying with a friend when the pandemic hit but was forced to move out after his friend’s family grew.

“I just stayed in the street and sometimes my friend lent me his Transit van to sleep there at night,” said Adam.

“To be honest, it’s really hard. First of all you start to be affected physically. You don’t eat properly: the food is always cold or sometimes off. When I was outside it was cold and it’s quite hard, it affects your mental health. My health has improved since I came indoors.

“If I hadn’t got the support from Asylum Welcome, Edge Housing and Connection Support, I would be in the grave. I would be a dead person. Because when you are homeless you think it’s just going to be two or three days. Your physical and mental condition deteriorates very quickly. It’s very complex to be honest, you start blaming yourself and other people.”

Adam contacted Asylum Welcome for help and they put him in touch with Connection Support to secure accommodation at St Mungo’s for two weeks.

After that, he was housed with Edge Housing and became part of the project.

The 43-year-old now lives in a shared house with four people and is provided with £50 a week for food and a bus pass every three months.

He is dreaming of being able to leave the project with the prospect of work and life in the UK.

“I would like to get my immigration status sorted and start working. Going further, I’d like to be independent and try to build a small family,” said Adam.

“I would like to work as an electronics engineer. I would do anything to be honest with you. I would like to earn some money and pay for some courses and improve myself or work in my chosen field.

“I do understand the Home Office wanting to stop the boats and illegal immigration. But I think an asylum seeker should have minimum dignity. Not by offering him £35 a week but maybe allowing him to work 20 hours a week or something like that just so we can survive with that money and be productive.”

The housing crisis means that finding homes for people to be housed in the project can be a challenge.

So the project partners teamed up with housing associations to strike up a deal to use their stock that is harder to rent out.

Jude McCaffrey, head of housing at Soha Housing, said: “We saw that the best piece of the puzzle that we could bring was offering housing at a peppercorn rent. We offered five homes that had been harder to let, and they became safe havens for 12 adults with NRPF status.

“We are so proud of the work that OHM, Connection Support, Asylum Welcome, and our partners do in ensuring that everyone has a right to a secure home and the space to resecure their UK status. It is at the heart of what Soha does in providing safe, affordable housing for all and supporting strong, resilient communities.”

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