Home Office asylum evictions have caused “irreversible harm” despite a series of government U-turns, a London homelessness shelter has said, as refugee evictions resume this week.
Glass Door, which opened its winter night shelter in November, has experienced unmanageable demand thanks in part to the consequences of Rishi Sunak’s government’s drive to clear the asylum backlog.
Its shelters now have a waiting list of more than 600 people, with about a third of the charity’s casework made up of refugees made homeless after leaving Home Office accommodation.
Referrals were 90% higher than the previous year and the charity has temporarily closed referrals for men.
It comes after The Big Issue revealed the Home Office had U-turned on a policy which gave many refugees as little as a week’s notice before being evicted, a major factor in pushing them onto the streets.
“While we are glad to see the change back to 28 days, a great deal of irreversible harm has already been done over the last four months. There has been a huge human impact, as well as massively increased pressures on local authorities and frontline services,” said Neil Parkinson, Glass Door’s co-head of casework.