A new report from the National Audit Office (NAO) has highlighted the need for stronger programme management and better housing options.
Sites in the Vale are playing a direct role in supporting the national programme.
The Holiday Inn Express in Rhoose is currently being used as transitional accommodation for Afghan families, who can stay for up to nine months while they await permanent housing.
A UK Government spokesman said: “The report clearly sets out the scale and complexity of Afghan resettlement, and recognises the progress that has been made, with around 38,000 Afghans already settled in the UK, and we remain committed to our target of completing Afghan resettlement by the end of this parliament.”
Another site, East Camp in St Athan, is housing families under the ARAP scheme.
This scheme is designed for those who worked alongside UK forces in Afghanistan and are awaiting long-term resettlement.
Both sites now fall under the unified Afghan Resettlement Programme (ARP), launched to streamline and improve the process on 1 March 2025, and bring together the previous ARAP and ACRS schemes into a single programme.
The ARP aims to bring all eligible Afghans to the UK by March 2029, with plans to move all individuals out of transitional accommodation by December 2029.
A UK Government spokesperson said: “The Afghan Resettlement Programme, introduced by this government, brings all schemes into a single pathway to deliver better outcomes for eligible Afghans and stronger value for money, with work continuing across government to ensure the programme is delivered as efficiently and effectively as possible.”
The spokesperson said steps have already been taken to improve the system.
They said: “We have also recently introduced new key performance indicators to improve case handling times and provide greater transparency for applicants and their supporters – alongside an online ARAP eligibility self-checker.”
However, the NAO report warns that significant obstacles remain.
These include insufficient data on individual needs and a shortage of suitable housing, which has contributed to higher rates of homelessness among resettled Afghans.
The NAO has called on the government to complete essential programme management tasks, carry out scenario planning, and better monitor the impact of the nine-month limit on transitional accommodation.
It also recommends using pilot programmes to identify and share effective approaches and to define clear measures of integration success for resettled Afghans.
Vale of Glamorgan Council and the UK Government have both identified the Rhoose site as part of Wales’ regional contribution to the ARP for 2025–26.
Transitional accommodation was formerly managed under the ACRS and ARAP schemes, but as of March 1, 2025, all households in such accommodation are now classified under the ARP.
The government continues to estimate that the entire resettlement effort will cost between £5.5 and £6 billion, with spending subject to ongoing review.
Afghan families in the Vale are among more than 37,950 people who arrived in the UK under resettlement schemes between April 2021 and December 2025.
