Your article on refugees described the Housing Associations Charitable Trust as “at the forefront of providing move-on accommodation” (22 October, page 22).

We do not actually provide accommodation at all, although many of the groups we work with and fund do. HACT is a catalyst for change, seeking to influence policy and practice by investing in, testing and developing solutions to issues concerning groups on the margins of mainstream housing provision.

We run programmes that share the learning generated by our grant-making, brokering of partnerships and networks and capacity building activities.

The article also stated that only two registered social landlords provide move-on housing. The reference here is perhaps to the only two RSLs who provide National Asylum Support Service-contracted accommodation.

Many associations do address refugee move-on accommodation but there is a lot of confusion in the sector as to whether housing associations are being called on to engage in NASS contracts to accommodate and support asylum seekers or whether they are being asked to address move-on issues more vigorously than they do at the moment.

Examples of RSLs who are currently involved in refugee housing and move-on range from Places for People to many small community-based associations.

Our Accommodate refugee housing partnerships project aims to support, fund and learn from 10 new partnerships that bring together more RSLs, refugee groups and councils in dispersal areas around the country.

Azim El-Hassan, refugee programme manager HACT

Source

Housing Today