Bedford Council has helped support refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine

Bedford Borough Council has taken part in various schemes to resettle refugees in the borough, a meeting heard.

A report presented to the Housing Committee on Wednesday (January 18) explained how the council has helped to support refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine.

Starting with the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme, which started in 2016 , Lee Phanco, the council’s chief officer for assessment, application and business support said there was a commitment to resettle 20 Syrian families at the rate of about four families a year.

“Which was a reasonable number given the overall housing pressures,” he said.

Mr Phanco said the council was one of the first local authorities in the country to step forward and say that it would help to resettle families from Afghanistan.

“We agreed to accept two families, but when it became apparent that there were going to be far more refugees because of the emergency evacuation, we agreed to settle more,” he said

“But one of the challenges we’ve experienced for both these groups is that it tends to be large families and sourcing larger properties in the private sector is very challenging,” he said.

The meeting heard that 22 Syrian families and 10 Afghan families have been resettled under the relevant schemes.

The Homes for Ukraine scheme is different as the council doesn’t source accommodation for the refugees.

“The accommodation is provided by the hosts, or sponsors as they are sometimes referred to, that volunteered to host a family in their own home,” Mr Phanco said.

“[Our] initial role is to make sure that it’s safe for that family to go to that property.

“We physically visit the properties, check that it’s safe, that it’s a suitable size, there’s a spare room, etc.

“As you would expect, we are responsible for identifying any safeguarding concerns that might arise,” he said.

The report said that as at January 4, 2023, there were 163 Ukrainian Guest households living in the borough, with the vast majority sharing a home with their hosts, and a small number have been provided with self-contained accommodation by the host.

“If for any reason the hosting arrangement breaks down, or if at the end of the initial six months the host decides they can’t continue we’ll try and rematch their guests with a new host.

“And there is still a waiting list of people that want to volunteer.

“If that’s not possible, then the council’s normal homelessness duties kick in.

“So we may have to provide people with temporary accommodation, or assist them to find a more permanent settled accommodation,” he said.

“What I would say though, in contrast to a lot of the coverage in the media, we are finding that relatively few hosts in Bedford borough are deciding to end their hosting arrangements.

“Which is really positive, and I think demonstrates the generosity and ongoing commitment of the residents that have volunteered the homes,” he said.