Vice Admiral Phil Hally
Chief of Defence People..
"You may already be aware that the MOD is supporting the relocation and resettlement of Afghan nationals who, due to their support to the UK over the past 20 years, now face threats to their lives in their home country. As a result, some of you may observe Afghan families moving into some Service Family Accommodation (SFA) where it is located ‘outside of the wire’.
I would like to reassure you, whilst some SFA is being used to provide a transitional home for Afghan families in need, the intent is only to do this where there is surplus SFA taking account of the demand from entitled and eligible Service families. The MOD remains committed to enabling Service personnel and their families to meet their needs of mobility, safety, security and all statutory requirements.
In October 2021, Ministers agreed to make available up to 550 SFA homes across the
Defence estate in the UK for Local Authorities to lease. This was in support of the UK Government’s Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP)1 to help provide housing for Afghans who had a connection to Defence. These SFA will be leased to Local Authorities for a period of 12 months, extendable up to five years with the agreement of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO). The number of SFA leased is currently low, (70 houses as at the date of this letter), but it is expected to rise as the Government renews efforts to meet Afghans’ immediate housing needs.
Not all vacant SFA are available for occupation under the scheme. DIO maintains a management margin to ensure entitled Service personnel can be offered appropriate SFA; some other properties are in unsuitable locations, such as being behind the wire. To meet the needs and requirements, the spread of occupied and identified SFA as part of the scheme in is far reaching across the UK, details of locations (Local Authorities) engaged can be found at Annex A. The requirement and use of SFA will be kept under review.
The locations of the SFA offered have been selected in line with the forecast of MOD requirements to avoid disadvantaging Service personnel. Responsibility for matching
Afghan families to SFA that DIO has made available for leasing, rests with Local
Authorities. Final decisions will be based on a number of factors, such as the right size and type of house required by Afghan families, and where the Local Authorities are able to ensure Afghans have access to the required additional welfare services such as healthcare and education.
1 ARAP is a recognised immigration category and they are legal migrants.
Afghan families may move into SFA from the UK bridging hotels or directly from their overseas location and both cohorts will have been subject to security checks. Notably those who are in the latter group may arrive overnight, potentially in the early hours of the morning, and will be less familiar with their environments. Local Authorities have the responsibility of delivering welfare support and settling Afghan families into their leased SFA and wider community and the MOD’s role is to provide the property.
If you wish to volunteer to assist in integrating neighbouring Afghan families into the community, the Government Afghanistan Housing Portal2 offers guidance on how people, organisations and businesses can offer support. You may wish to discuss further localised support with your Head of Establishment, Hive or Welfare teams. Furthermore, if you have any concerns or queries, your Head of Establishments or your Service Housing Colonels can be contacted.3
Lastly, you do not need me to explain that the country and the Armed Forces in particular owe a debt to those Afghans who supported us and who we worked alongside over many years of conflict. I am deeply proud that the MOD and the wider Defence community is playing its part supporting these vulnerable families in their hour of need. I would like to thank those of you who have already supported those families who have already been accommodated in surplus SFA; and I am confident that you will continue to extend this warm welcome as other families join us under this scheme. We will ensure further communications to those locations once we have confirmation that individual Local Authorities will utilise the SFA offered."
ACCOMMODATION PROVIDED BY MOD FOR ARAP AFGHAN FAMILIES
I am writing to provide you with an update on His Majesty’s Government’s (HMG) efforts to house those who have come to the UK via the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP). You may recall the attached letter sent by Chief of Defence People in March that explained that ARAP families would be housed in Service Family Accommodation (SFA).
We owe a debt of gratitude to those who worked for and alongside the British Armed Forces in Afghanistan, and MOD is therefore contributing to cross-Government efforts to house ARAP families. Recent developments in the region have caused HMG to re-evaluate the risks to ARAP Families, leading to a recently agreed change of policy increasing the pace of relocations.
To ensure that ARAP families can begin a settled life in the UK, HMG is offering transitional and settled accommodation from the Defence estate and the Private Rental Sector, as follows:
Transitional Accommodation:
• Large Sites: Two Defence training sites to hold ARAP families for short periods as they arrive from overseas, and before moving to leased SFA or commercially sourced accommodation.
• Transitional SFA: SFA to be used for around six-week periods to accommodate ARAP families arriving from overseas. As above, this will provide temporary accommodation for ARAP families while settled accommodation is sourced. It will operate on a rolling basis.
Leased Accommodation:
• Void SFA: void SFA (additional to the transitional SFA) leased to Afghan families for three-year periods (for those with two to four bed requirements).
All SFA offered is ‘outside the wire’.
• Commercially sourced accommodation: Accommodation in the Private Rental Sector to house those with a one bed or a five-plus bed requirement.
This is being coordinated by MOD’s Directorate of Defence Afghan Relocation and Resettlement with support from the Defence Infrastructure Organisation and Standing Joint Command (SJC).
Whilst there are already over 200 Afghan families living in SFA, I recognise the concerns this letter may give rise to and MOD will work closely with Housing Colonels and the local Chain of Command to minimise any impact. More of you will have ARAP families as neighbours over the coming years, and I would encourage you to give them a warm welcome, whether in transitional or leased SFA. It is however worth noting that the overall responsibility for delivering welfare support and settling ARAP families into their local community will mostly sit with the Local Authority. If you would like to contribute to this work to help people settle into their new lives in the UK, please visit the following links:
I assure you that every effort will be made to ensure that this transition is as smooth as possible, and I am grateful for your understanding. If you have any questions, please speak to your Chain of Command who can escalate your query as appropriate.
Yours sincerely,
RT HON DR ANDREW MURRISON MP