The Minister for Syrian Refugees Richard Harrington has praised local authorities and encouraged more to come forward and support government plans to resettle Syrian refugees in the UK.
Mr Harrington was speaking on a visit to Nottingham on Thursday (11/02/16), when he attended a conference.
The conference was in support of the government pledge to resettle up to 20,000 Syrians in need of protection during this Parliament.
The government said the conference was an opportunity to share best practice in helping to resettle refugees, update on the progress of VPRS –
as well as encouraging support from local authorities which are not yet participating in the scheme.
The event was chaired by Dr Stuart Young – Executive Director of East Midlands Councils – and attended by around 100 people, including ten local authority leaders or cabinet members, as well as senior local government officers from local authorities in the East Midlands.
The Minister thanked local authorities and partner organisations in the East Midlands for their participation in the government’s Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) – and for helping to resettle Syrian refugees in the UK.
Mr Harrington said:
“I am proud to lead our nation’s resettlement programme – and thrilled that we have already begun to deliver on our promise, with over 1,000 Syrian refugees resettled by the end of 2015.
“This has been made possible by an incredible amount of effort and support from local authorities from the East Midlands and across the UK.
“There is still a great deal of work to do as we offer protection and a new start to a total of 20,000 vulnerable Syrians over the course of this Parliament.
“The ongoing support and co-operation of local authorities, NGOs and others will be essential as we expand the resettlement scheme further in the coming months.”
Attendees at the conference also heard from John Robinson – Chief Executive of Gedling Borough Council in Nottinghamshire – who shared the council’s experience of settling Syrian refugees ahead of Christmas; and Amaf Yousef – Refugee Support Coordinator of the Syrian Charities and Networks UK – who explained how the resettlement programme operates from the perspective of a Syrian refugee.
Also present were representatives from partner groups, including Clinical Commissioning Groups, and local and national Voluntary and Community Sector/Non-Governmental Organisations.
The event was part of a series of regional conferences taking place across the UK in 2016.
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https://www.gov.uk/government/news/minister-encourages-further-support-for-syrian-resettlement-scheme