Afghan resettlement in England: outcomes and experiences 

This project will assess the effectiveness of the Afghan resettlement schemes through understanding the experiences and outcomes of resettled Afghans across England.  

Why this project is important

Since August 2021, when the Taliban took over Kabul, the British Government has evacuated over 22,000 vulnerable and at-risk Afghans to the UK.

The Afghan resettlement schemes are currently under increased scrutiny, in part because of procedural concerns and safeguarding issues for women and children in crowded accommodation.

The Chief Inspector of Borders, the Women and Equalities committee, and Local Government Association have made calls for independent evidence to inform implementation.  

Local Authorities, who have responsibility for resettlement, have warned that combined pressure from the schemes is leading to unsustainable pressures on housing, potential homelessness, and children’s services teams.  

About the project

This project will gather evidence of experiences and outcomes of the resettlement schemes, enabling the assessment of:

• how the schemes are working
• how experiences vary regionally
• how experiences vary by characteristics, especially gender, age, and ethnicity.  

How the research will be carried out

The research will be completed in four phases: 

1. Conducting a scoping review of data from the Home Office and Strategic Migration Partnerships, grey literature, and data from national and local NGOs to provide a picture of the implementation of the Afghan resettlement schemes.  
2. Surveying Afghans in five locations to investigate experiences and outcomes, especially in employment, income, and housing. This will also describe inequalities in experience according to region and by characteristics. 
3. Interviewing women and young people to explore how the most vulnerable experience schemes and embed in their new environments, utilising participatory approaches of walking interviews and Photovoice. 
4. Synthesising all quantitative and qualitive evidence to identify implications for policy and practice.  

How it will make a difference

• Home Office policy makers, select committees, and parliamentarians will be engaged through briefings, workshops, and roundtables.
• Findings from the project will enable national government, Strategic Migration Partnerships, Local Authorities, and NGOs to assess how resettlement schemes are working and how experiences vary regionally and by different populations.
• The project team will work with Refugee NGOs and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Afghanistan and Afghan Women and Children.  

Update

The Nuffield Foundation has provided an additional £79,025.54 and a 6-month extension to enable the research team to:

• Capture the impact of the end of the three-year government funding programme for local authorities, which will leave families subject to standard welfare restrictions
• Gather more detailed reflections from Aghan men, whose traditional roles are being impacted by unemployment, concerns about housing, and financial insecurity.
• Explore problems with national coordination between multiple stakeholders.
• Capture diversity in local authority support models to gain insight on what works and how improvements can be made.
• Draw together learning across resettlement schemes, including the Ukrainian and Syrian programmes.