UK details Afghan families housed under resettlement schemes

Defence Minister Luke Pollard has confirmed that nearly one hundred Afghan families who supported British forces remain housed in Service Families Accommodation (SFA) as part of the UK’s resettlement commitments.

In a written response to Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty, Pollard stated that “as of 4 September 2025, there are 97 Afghan Response Route (ARR) eligible families residing in Settled Service Family Accommodation.”

The Ministry of Defence does not hold data on the exact number of individuals within each household but confirmed that “there are 293 ARR eligible persons residing in temporary accommodation on the Defence Estate which includes transitional SFA and barrack block style accommodation.”

The Afghan Resettlement Programme, which includes the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and the Afghan Response Route (ARR), provides eligible arrivals with up to nine months of transitional housing to help them establish roots in the UK and move toward self-sufficiency. Pollard reiterated that “we are committed to honouring the promise made to those Afghans who supported the UK mission in Afghanistan, often at great personal risk.”

In a separate written question, Obese-Jecty asked how many properties reacquired from Annington Homes earlier this year have been used to house Afghan refugees. Pollard confirmed that “795 of the 36,000 properties bought back from Annington Homes in January 2025 have been used to house Afghans who worked alongside our troops in Afghanistan who have been brought to the UK via the Afghan Resettlement Programme.”

He added that while surplus Service Family Accommodation has been used “in certain circumstances” to house Afghans, the Ministry of Defence does not hold specific data on which of the former Annington properties are occupied by those eligible under the Afghan Response Route.