In mid-November the Home Office shared its plans to temporarily house 200 Afghan individuals (a mixture of single people and families) at Nesscliffe Barracks in Shropshire. These are people who have been identified as part of the government’s Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) which offers Afghan nationals who worked for or with the UK government relocation to the UK.

Among those who qualify for relocations include those who worked for the UK government in Afghanistan, and people who worked in roles such as interpreters with UK Armed Forces from 2001, and whose safety is now at risk because of that work.

While information is limited, we understand the site, which is owned and operated by the MoD, is due to be used as transitional accommodation for people under the ARAP scheme. This means that people are only expected to be there for a maximum of six weeks before being moved onto a settled housing option, which could be anywhere in the UK.

We're working with health colleagues to plan for the arrivals. The MoD has the majority of responsibility for services to these individuals whilst on the base.

Over the winter, we'll also have a further 17 Afghan families arriving at the MOD’s Cosford base. These arrivals are part of the planned and settled Afghan households being placed by the Home Office around the country. 

We're providing the majority of the support and integration around these arrivals and linking with Telford & Wrekin Council, who are also supporting families on the base.

Neither group of Afghans in Shropshire under this scheme are asylum seekers, and all have the right to be in the country.  

We'll update this page on the Home Office schemes as and when more information is available.