THE Home Office has revealed the number of refugees from countries such as Afghanistan and Ukraine that are currently living in Warrington.

This comes after controversial decisions have been made to use hotels in Warrington - such as Woolston's Holiday Inn - to house migrants.

At the end of June this year, around 20,000 Afghan migrants had settled in the UK through two different schemes.

Warrington Guardian: The decision to ensure refugees would be housed in Woolston's Holiday Inn was a controversial oneThe decision to ensure refugees would be housed in Woolston's Holiday Inn was a controversial one (Image: Newsquest)

In response to the Taliban retaking control of Afghanistan, the British government launched two schemes to relocate Afghan citizens in 2021 and 2022.

Warrington has, to date, taken in 28 refugees from Afghanistan.

In comparison, Warrington has taken in nearly 10 times as many Ukrainian refugees who have been displaced due to the war in Ukraine.

According to the data, 252 Ukrainian refugees now live in Warrington.

Nationally, more than 120,000 refugees from Ukraine have been rehomed.

The number of Afghan refugees living in Warrington has not changed since March of this year, with some charities calling for the asylum process to be altered.

The International Rescue Committee UK said the numbers 'reveal the shocking reality of the Government’s failure to provide protection for vulnerable Afghans.'

Laura Kyrke-Smith, executive director of the International Rescue Committee said: “In pushing forward the Illegal Migration Act, the Government time and time again assured concerned Parliamentarians and the British public that there existed ‘safe routes’ for refugees from countries like Afghanistan.

“These statistics show that these routes simply aren’t matching the scale of the need. Instead, the majority of the almost 10,000 Afghans seeking safety in the UK were forced to make dangerous journeys across the Channel.”

Government figures show that between January and June of this year, 1,474 Afghans arrived in the UK via small boat crossings.

A spokesperson for the Home Office said: “No one should be risking their lives by crossing the Channel or taking dangerous and illegal routes to reach the UK – there are safe and legal routes to come here.

“The number of Afghans which the UK has committed to resettling under the ACRS scheme is generous, and greater than many of our international counterparts.”