Clearing asylum backlog ‘created another crisis’ as refugees left homeless, charities say

Hassan came to the UK on a boat across the English Channel. Now he is sleeping rough on a Liverpool housing estate.

“Where should I go? What should I do?” he asks me, as he clears out his rain-soaked tent, which he’s pitched under some trees near to a row of semi-detached houses.

A sleeping bag he’s had since he left Calais, the last stop until Britain for more than 30,000 migrants this year, is ringing wet.

“This country is no good for asylum,” he says trying to pack his things into plastic bags.

“When you have a problem, you wait a long time for nothing.”

Hassan fled Iraq last year and travelled through Europe to reach Britain.

But his hopes of a new life have long faded.

“I have no money. No anything,” he says.

His asylum application was rejected on a technicality, but he is able to reapply. With no phone and no address however, it seems impossible.

A local resident spots us filming and walks quickly towards us, and we witness first hand why immigration is set to become a key issue in the next general election.

“This isn’t happening,” the resident says pointing at the tent angrily.

“We don’t want this around here. You’ve got all the neighbours worried. Imagine this is your house and your kids are playing in the garden, and you’ve got him camping here.

“You better get it moved tonight,” he shouts.

His anger is understandable. Hassan doesn’t want to be here.

But as the government has openly admitted, the asylum system in Britain is broken. This depressing scene on a housing estate brings that into clear focus.

We’ve come to Liverpool because the council here is pleading for the government to step in and help.

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Liverpool City Council says it is dealing with an “unprecedented homelessness problem” and says a big part of that is a sudden influx of asylum seekers.

They blame the government’s move to accelerate the processing of asylum claims to clear the backlog by the end of the year.

When people are given refugee status, they are no longer eligible for asylum seeker accommodation – but there is nowhere to go.

Around £6m a year has been spent housing asylum seekers in hotels and hostels while claims are processed.

And earlier this month, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the government had reduced the backlog from 92,000 to 20,000.

Now cities like Liverpool say that has put them under “enormous pressure” as requests for housing are on the rise at a time when housing stock is already at a premium.

The city council told Sky News that it currently spends around £11m per year on asylum seekers and refugees in the region.

Nationally, there are 1.2 million people waiting for social housing, according to the charity Shelter.

Ewan Roberts, from Asylum Link, an organisation set up to offer help and advice to asylum seekers, says clearing the backlog has had negative knock-on effects.

“People are coming through the system so quickly now with leave to remain. They’re recognised as refugees, but there’s no accommodation for them.

“The government has pushed the burden on to somebody else.

“Whether that’s the voluntary sector or local authorities or other statutory homelessness services.

“They might have solved one problem, but they’ve created another.”

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Alfadal, 31, has lived in the UK for four years. His 21-year-old wife Selma has recently been allowed to join him here under a family reunion visa.

But they are homeless because he claims the council say they are not a priority.

“I went to the train station. I sleep there,” he said.

“I don’t have any place to take my wife. I’m afraid for her.”

Government and Labour wrestle with asylum

Immigration is shaping up to be one of the key issues ahead of the general election and the government’s handling of the issue will be seen as critical.

Labour is facing the dilemma of being seen as tough enough by former red wall seats but also compassionate by the other wing of its supporters.

So far, Sir Keir Starmer has committed to lowering migration but has not given any specific target.

It has been a turbulent few weeks for the Conservative Party. The Supreme Court ruling that plans to send migrants to Rwanda were illegal was a major setback.

But in response, the prime minister published emergency legislation that would declare Rwanda a safe country for asylum seekers and push through their controversial deportation policy.

A government spokesperson said: “We have always met our legal obligations by providing support and accommodation for asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute.

“As the legacy backlog reduces, we continue to work with local authorities to manage the impact of asylum decisions and support is available on moving on from asylum support accommodation through Migrant Help and their partners.”

“Through our Rough Sleeping Strategy, we will continue to work not just to reduce rough sleeping but to end it completely. Some £2bn have been provided to councils to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.”

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A Liverpool City Council spokesperson said: “Liverpool, like many local authorities, has been placed under immense pressure by the government’s decision to shift the burden from central to local government without proper planning and consultation.

“As a result we have written to the government to ask for additional help and support as well as co-operation to phase the decisions to enable us to find sustainable solutions.

“We are committed to protecting the most vulnerable in our communities and have increased capacity in our frontline services to address these issues.

“Our current spend on asylum seekers and refugees is in the region of £11m per year.”