Home Secretary Priti Patel is offering councils thousands of pounds in a bid to rehome more Afghan refugees. AFP
Home Secretary Priti Patel is offering councils thousands of pounds in a bid to rehome more Afghan refugees. AFP
Home Secretary Priti Patel is offering councils thousands of pounds in a bid to rehome more Afghan refugees. AFP
Home Secretary Priti Patel is offering councils thousands of pounds in a bid to rehome more Afghan refugees. AFP

UK councils to be paid £20,500 for each Afghan they resettle


Nicky Harley
  • English
  • Arabic

The UK government has pledged to pay its local councils more than £20,500 for each Afghan citizen it resettles.

The Home Office has also announced it will increase its resettlement support by £32 million.

It is now urging more local authorities to step up and offer to rehome rescued Afghan refugees.

Under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme, the government has committed to resettling up to 20,000 Afghans.

This is in addition to the ARAP scheme, which has already resettled thousands of Afghans who have worked with the UK government, and their families.

The Home Office said permanent homes had been found for more than 2,000 refugees, however 6,000 remain in “holding” hotels waiting to be resettled.

This week it has announced councils will receive £20,520 per person, over a three-year period, for resettlement and integration costs.

They will also receive up to £4,500 per child for education, £850 to cover English-language provisions for adults and £2,600 to cover healthcare.

A further £20 million of flexible funding will be available to support local authorities with higher cost bases.

In addition, the Afghan Housing Costs Fund will increase from £5 million to £17 million and run for two extra years to help local authorities provide housing and give certainty that funding will be available in the future.

"The UK is a proud democratic country, so it is unimaginable for many of us to live in fear of being ourselves or not having access to even the most basic rights," Home Secretary Priti Patel said.

"That is why we are providing a safe haven in the UK for people at risk, including women and girls and minority groups, so they can rebuild their lives safely in the UK.

"The funding we’ve announced will help new arrivals to integrate into British society, while giving councils offering support the certainty they need."

Councils urged to do more to rehouse Afghan families

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said he has been "impressed" with the response from councils willing to help refugees.

"I am incredibly impressed by the positive response we’ve received from councils so far, with a large number already pledging their support," he said.

"However, we urgently need more offers of accommodation to welcome Afghan families who have remained firm allies of the UK, working with our troops and our country so bravely in recent years.

"With this extra funding in place, I’m asking all councils who have not yet come forward to contact us with a firm offer of support to help these families secure the best possible start to their new lives."

Passengers queue at Kabul Airport to leave Afghanistan. Karim Sahib / AFP
Passengers queue at Kabul Airport to leave Afghanistan. Karim Sahib / AFP

Some voluntary organisations helping new arrivals from Afghanistan have complained about the UK government's lack of organisation and clarity on the refugee response that has, in some cases, left babies without formula or nappies.

The Refugee Council sounded the alarm over the treatment of the refugees saying that while it recognised the government was "working at speed", many refugees were not always getting the required support.

Afghan Resettlement Minister Victoria Atkins said surgeries will be set up across the country to help those with issues.

"I’m proud of the mammoth effort taking place across the whole of the UK to welcome people from Afghanistan," she said.

"Our resettlement scheme will help to build a bright future for thousands of people who have helped us.

"As part of ongoing, government-wide efforts to help Afghan arrivals to rebuild their lives, the Department for Work and Pensions is launching surgeries across the country, run by experienced work coaches with translators, to help those arriving with any questions they may have about employment or benefits.

"These surgeries, combined with access to benefits, will allow new arrivals to receive individual tailored support to help them become self-sufficient more quickly and find work as they get settled in the UK."

War

Director: Siddharth Anand

Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor

Rating: Two out of five stars 

FIGHT%20CARD
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TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:

- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools

- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say

- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance

- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs

- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills

- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month

- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues

MATCH INFO

Everton 2 Southampton 1
Everton: Walcott (15'), Richarlison (31' )
Southampton: Ings (54')

Man of the match: Theo Walcott (Everton)

Star%20Wars%3A%20Episode%20I%20%E2%80%93%20The%20Phantom%20Menace
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Big%20Ape%20Productions%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20LucasArts%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsoles%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PC%2C%20PlayStation%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Company Profile

Company name: Yeepeey

Started: Soft launch in November, 2020

Founders: Sagar Chandiramani, Jatin Sharma and Monish Chandiramani

Based: Dubai

Industry: E-grocery

Initial investment: $150,000

Future plan: Raise $1.5m and enter Saudi Arabia next year

Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Cargoz%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Premlal%20Pullisserry%20and%20Lijo%20Antony%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2030%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
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Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo

Power: 374hp at 5,500-6,500rpm

Torque: 500Nm from 1,900-5,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 8.5L/100km

Price: from Dh285,000

On sale: from January 2022 

MATCH INFO

Real Madrid 2

Vinicius Junior (71') Mariano (90 2')

Barcelona 0

The%20specs
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What is graphene?

Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.

It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.

Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.

By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.

At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.

It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.

But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.

In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties. 

 

Updated: September 14, 2021, 1:42 PM