Hampshire County Council promises to home Afghanistan refugees

REFUGEES fleeing Afghanistan will be given a place to live in Hampshire, the county council has vowed.

With the Taliban retaking control of Afghanistan as UK and US armed forces pull out, refugees have been leaving the country in their thousands, packed onto aeroplanes leaving Kabul, writes David George of the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Prime minister Boris Johnson has pledged to resettle 20,000 Afghan refugees in the UK over the next five years, and Portsmouth City Council has already welcomed two families into the city.

Now, Hampshire County Council has promised that it will help out wherever possible, having already signed up to the government’s Afghan resettlement scheme.

Initially, the county council had pledged to resettle up to 22 Afghan families in Hampshire. New Forest District Council was among the local authorities agreeing to help.

These families – including translators and guides who supported UK troops over the past 20 years – will still be rehomed.

But the numbers of Afghans who are seeking to flee Taliban rule could lead to many more being rehoused in Hampshire.

A spokesperson for the council said: "The county council is pleased to be working closely with the Home Office and a range of key local partners including district and borough councils, support providers and local charities to assist a number of Afghan families moving to the UK to re-settle across the county as part of the government’s Afghan relocation and assistance policy programme.

"While the focus is to help re-settle families into longer term accommodation, with associated service support, the rapid escalation of events in Afghanistan has meant that interim, short term placements may also be needed.

"The county council and partners have assured government of our support with this when required."