A new report from the Centre for Homelessness Impact has revealed there was a 223% surge people leaving asylum being made street homeless between June and September 2023.
It confirms what The Big Issue has been saying for months: that changes to Home Office policy have seen refugee homelessness skyrocket.
Written by academics at the University of Huddersfield, the report tallies with an in-depth Big Issue investigation launched in November. We found that a reduction in the time given to refugees to “move on” from asylum accommodation after their claim had been processed had resulted in homelessness tripling among those evicted.
University of Huddersfield professor Philip Brown, lead researcher on the project, said: “Those people who arrive in the UK to seek sanctuary have, over the last few decades, been increasingly finding themselves accommodated in precarious situations, often enduring homelessness.
“This is particularly common for those receiving refugee status after a decision on their claim for asylum. These are challenges shared by many people in the UK.
“A lack of social housing, low-pay work and a poorly resourced support system maintain common struggles. The lack of familiarity with UK systems, difficulty getting into employment and an often fledging grasp of English means that, for refugees, they find things even harder.