More Afghan refugees are to be housed in Harrogate and Ripon following an urgent request from the Home Office.

North Yorkshire Council has approved the use of eight Ministry of Defence properties in the county — but also flagged up concerns about the pressure on its housing stock.

Six of the new homes are in Catterick and one each is in Harrogate and Ripon.

A council report cited humanitarian concerns as the reason for agreeing to the request and said eight properties “would be manageable in relation to school places, integration support and English language classes”.

But it added:

“Caution is necessary in relation to accommodating more than eight additional households.

“Existing housing pressures in the county need to be considered alongside the fact that North Yorkshire Council is responsible for finding move-on housing for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy households in the service family accommodation properties should they wish to stay in North Yorkshire.”

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The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy, which was implemented in April 2021, entitles Afghan citizens who worked for or with the UK in Afghanistan and their partners and children to relocate to the UK.

The report said North Yorkshire had resettled 175 people from 45 Afghanistan households under the scheme since February 2021 and had also received over 1,300 Homes for Ukraine arrivals since spring 2022 , “some of whom are requiring move-on housing in the county following the end of their sponsorship period”.

Rachel Joyce, the council’s assistant chief executive local engagement, said:

“There are specific timelines for this process, however, the Ministry of Defence have identified eight properties in total in Harrogate, Ripon and Catterick Garrison which would provide safe and suitable accommodation for eligible Afghan refugee families.

“Families will be matched to the properties giving them the independence, space and privacy they require. It’s also a chance for them to integrate with the local community and play a part in community life.

“We are unable to reveal the exact addresses of the properties at this stage.”

North Yorkshire Council has been offered £1.3m from the government to go towards buying 11 homes for Afghan refugees in the Harrogate area.

Thousands of refugees have come to the UK from Afghanistan since the withdrawal of US troops and the return to power of the Taliban in August 2021.

The government has been offering councils money to help house the refugees in secure properties through its Local Authority Housing Fund (LAHF).

A report will go before the authority’s Conservative executive next week that says it has been allocated £1.34m in the latest round of funding.

If the council decides to accept the money, it will provide 60% match funding worth £1.68m to buy the properties, taking the overall cost to £3.1m.

Last year, Harrogate Borough Council received £2.5m from the same fund to help buy 21 homes for Afghan and Ukrainian refugees.

The borough council, which was abolished in March, came to an agreement with a local housing association to provide the match funding but this time NYC is set to borrow the money through its own general fund.

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This report says this will give the council greater control over the choice and location of properties and that it can best ensure that the needs of the refugees, and future tenants, are met.

According to NYC’s refugee resettlement manager, there is a need for more properties in the Harrogate area based on links to existing services that support the Afghan community.

The homes must be bought before March next year and could be a mix of former council homes, new builds or other properties on the open market.

Rent will be at affordable rates and the council expects to generate £118,225 in annual rental income.

The report adds:

“The acquisition of additional homes for Afghan refugees will help alleviate pressure on the council and ensure the council is playing its part in supporting government to meet national commitments toward Afghan refugees.”

The leader of Harrogate Borough Council has said Afghan refugees are “settling in well” in the district and that three more families are on the way.

The district has so far welcomed four families under a government scheme targeted at Afghans who worked for the UK military and are fleeing the country because they are under serious threat from the Taliban.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, council leader Richard Cooper said: 

“Four families have arrived under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP), one in Knaresborough and three in Harrogate. They are settling in well.

“We have been asked to accommodate three more families under ARAP. ”

British troops left Afghanistan over the weekend, bringing an end to the UK’s 20-year military involvement in the country, which is now under the control of the Taliban.

Taliban leaders have pledged not to allow Afghanistan to become a base for terrorists who could threaten the West.

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But questions are already being asked about how they will govern the country, and what this will mean for women, human rights, and political freedoms.

There are also questions over what will happen to Afghans who are eligible to come to the UK but have been left behind in the evacuation programme.

Speaking on Tuesday, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said he couldn’t give a “definitive” figure for how many of those remained in the country.

Government pledge to resettle 20,000 refugees

Under another scheme for refugees, the Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), the government has pledged to take in up to 20,000 refugees over the coming years, with a focus on women and children, as well as religious and other minorities.

The scheme is still being developed and local councils which have pledged their support are now awaiting information on how they can help.

Cllr Cooper previously said Harrogate would take in “more than our quota” of refugees who are “in need of and deserve our assistance”.

He has now added: 

“The details of the long-term Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme have not been released by the government.

“When they are, we will work with North Yorkshire County Council and Migration Yorkshire on the programme.”

Four families from Afghanistan have been resettled in the Harrogate district following the Taliban takeover of the country.

The Afghan workers and their families are those who qualify for the Government’s Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP). They all arrived this month.

The scheme is for people who have supported British efforts in Afghanistan, including working as interpreters for the UK’s armed forces.

In June, senior Harrogate borough councillors agreed to offer resettlement to 19 Afghans, which amounts to four families.

The families are receiving support to help them to integrate and live independently. This includes English lessons where required, school places and routes to employment that make use of the professional skills they bring.

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North Yorkshire people have been thanked for their generous donations of goods for Afghan families arriving in the county.

Donations of clothes, toiletries and other items have flooded in – and charities now have more than they need. People who wish to are now being asked to show their support in other ways, as North Yorkshire County Council stressed that the families are being well catered for and the support they need is in place.

Cllr David Chance, North Yorkshire County Council executive member for stronger communities, said:

“We saw an outpouring of donations for the Afghan families, which is unsurprising from the people of North Yorkshire, and we thank them for that.

“We now have more donations than these families need. Fortunately, they are being well-catered for through tried and tested systems established over a number of years by the county council and partners, including district and borough councils, volunteer and community groups and the Refugee Council.

“If people still want to show their support, we would encourage them instead to make a financial donation to national charities involved in refugee resettlement.”

What happens next?

The government has also recently announced a wider Afghan refugee scheme – the Afghan citizens’ relocation scheme. This is aimed at providing protection for vulnerable people fleeing the Taliban.

A decision on a commitment to that scheme within North Yorkshire and the Harrogate district is yet to be made.

It comes as British military forces have entered the final stages of evacuating people from Kabul airport. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said around 800 to 1,100 eligible Afghans will be left behind in the country – but that they can be processed for the UK’s relocation scheme if they can get to another country. The ARAP scheme will remain open indefinitely.