Why there's been such a sharp spike in refugees sleeping on the streets of Britain

Charities and campaigners have warned that more refugees are sleeping rough on the streets ahead of winter.

The number of homeless refugees in the UK has tripled over a three-month period, with many local authorities saying they don't have the resources to deal with it. That's according to data collected by The Big Issue, which said nearly 1,500 refugees were assessed as homeless between August and October, compared to 450 during the same period last year.

London Councils - the local government association for Greater London - has made a similar assessment, warning the number of refugees and asylum seekers presenting as homeless after being evicted from Home Office accommodation increased by 39% in October. The association of local authorities in the capital said councils are struggling with a severe shortage of accommodation and that many simply don't have accommodation to house these people.

This is leaving many with no choice but to sleep rough.

London Councils says the Home Office is making the problem worse by providing no funding to local authorities to support asylum seekers in hotels since April this year. It fears numbers will increase, and that rough sleepers will be in more danger due to cold winter conditions.

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So, why such a sharp spike? Campaigners point to a recent change in working practices that means many refugees are now given seven days' notice to leave their Home Office accommodation instead of the previous 28 days.

This was introduced in August and applies to those who came to the UK as asylum seekers and have been given refugee status – meaning their claims to stay in the country have been accepted.

At the time, campaigners such as the Migrants Rights Network warned that the new approach "falls drastically short of allowing refugees the time they need in order to secure alternative accommodation".

While the granting of asylum should be a cause for celebration, the Joint Council For The Welfare Of Immigrants (JCWI) says in a online fundraiser, says the reality can be anything but: "You have been granted refugee status and you now have the right to stay and get on with your dreams.

"But, right then, you’re handed a seven days' notice to move out. The government seems to think that after having no right to earn a living while waiting for their decision, you will now be able to find a job and the money to afford a place to live, in just a week’s time."

The change comes as the Home Office works to stop using hotels to house asylum seekers, who will be sent to "other parts of our asylum estate", including disused military sites and places like the Bibby Stockholm barge, where an asylum seeker was found dead on Tuesday morning for reasons not yet clear.

However, the effort to clear the asylum backlog is causing further problems, Right to Remain argues. The charity says that many of these people won't have time to make a homelessness application to their council due to such short notice.

This means they could spend days or weeks before their local authority can place them in a new home – if it even has one to provide. Local authorities won't usually accept a homelessness application unless there is proof of eviction, the charity adds, meaning refugees need to wait until they receive a Notice to Quit letter, which are now arriving later.

On top of this, refugees will lose their asylum allowance, and could wait five weeks for their Universal Credit applications to process, leaving them destitute in the meantime.

'Unbearable pressures'

It isn't only refugee and homeless charities who are rallying against the government on this issue. Faith leaders in London have also written to minister begging them to consider a change in practice. They urge them to restore the 28-day move-on period, with the intention of moving to 56 days when possible.

In a letter published on Monday, they said: "Across London, churches, mosques, gurdwaras, synagogues and temples open their doors to receive asylum seekers and refugees. We are seeing demand for this support grow, overwhelmingly with the need to help those with new refugee status find accommodation.

"Through relationships with our local councils, we are seeing the unbearable pressures they are facing, with insufficient resources to find emergency accommodation before these people are on the streets.

"Homelessness is a huge barrier for a new refugee to seek work, make an application for any benefit, or start to settle in the UK. No-one can build their life like this."

'This is causing problems'

Michael Gove has admitted that a controversial new policy on evictions from asylum hotels is creating "particular problems".

Speaking to Parliament’s Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee on 6 December, the senior Cabinet minister accepted that the Home Office's recent policy of seven-day eviction notices "is tight and tough". He added: “It was the case that 28 days was assumed to be good practice, but I agree that seven days is something local government has told me does create particular problems.”

The Home Office maintains there hasn't been a change in policy. A spokesperson said: “Once someone is informed that their asylum claim has been granted, they get at least 28 days notice to move on from their asylum accommodation. Support is offered to newly recognised refugees by Migrant Help and their partners, which includes advice on how to access Universal Credit, the labour market and where to get assistance with housing."

However, this doesn't match what is being reported on the ground, and Gove appeared to accept this isn't the case. What could explain this discrepancy is a change in the timing asylum seekers receive vital pieces of paperwork, which changes the notice period in practice, as explained here by Free Movement.