A charity which supports asylum seekers in Suffolk has added its voice to calls to lengthen the time refugees are given to find homes.

Last week, 16 homelessness and refugee charities signed an open letter to Home Secretary James Cleverly, urging the government to give refugees 56 days to find a place to live after their asylum application is accepted.

Currently, 28 days are allowed before support from the government, such as a room in a hotel or other dispersal accommodation, is withdrawn.

Last July, this timeframe was slashed to seven days, but this was reversed in December after a huge upswing in the number of refugees left homeless.

The table above shows the number of people, as of December 31,  who had arrived in Suffolk under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, the Afghan Resettlement Programme and those receiving asylum support. However, some may have since left the area or returned to their country of origin.

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Suffolk Refugee Support (SRS), based in Ipswich, has said it would welcome more time being given.

Asylum seekers are not generally allowed to work and have no say in where they are accommodated. So, allowing just a month for newly-recognised refugees to find employment, save for rent and then find a home in the current housing climate is “almost impossible”.

“It creates a really precarious moment for people who should be feeling relief, a sense of safety and being able to look to the future with hope. They’re suddenly facing a whole new set of problems, not knowing where they’re going to be living in the next few weeks with very little time or resources to come up with alternatives,” said Martin Simmonds, fundraising and communications manager at SRS.

He said that in extending the grace period, many cases of homelessness could be avoided, easing the pressure on local authorities and charities.

It would also help people to successfully integrate, allowing them to put down roots, contribute and flourish in their new communities.

Fortunately, Mr Simmonds said that Ipswich has seen very few cases of refugees being made homeless, and most have now been resolved. This is partly because many asylum seekers were moved out of the town last year, and partly because SRS has been working closely with local authorities, housing providers and landlords to find people accommodation.

“We realise how lucky we are, because we know of charities in other parts of the country which have seen dozens of people in that situation,” Mr Simmonds said.