PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Refugees: Syria (21 January 2016)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that refugees admitted to the UK from Syria are provided with the necessary support to enable them to integrate into British society.

Asked by:
Ruth Cadbury (Labour)

The Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme is based on need and prioritises those who cannot be supported effectively in the region. Local authorities are expected to provide refugees that they resettle with a 12 month support package which is tailored according to their individual needs. As well as accommodation and addressing any medical and social care needs, this also includes cultural integration and English language tuition. This is funded using the overseas aid budget as it is giving support to refugees that would otherwise be provided overseas.

At the Spending Review, the Government committed £129 million to assist with local authority costs over years 2-5 of the scheme. This will be allocated on a tariff basis over four years, tapering from £5,000 per person in their second year in the UK, to £1,000 per person in year five. There will also be a special cases fund to assist the most vulnerable refugees. This is a substantial level of funding which will enable local authorities to support these vulnerable people as they rebuild their lives in safe and secure surroundings, among supportive communities in the UK.

We are working with offers of support from community groups and inidividuals to see how we can best take them up to further help people settle and integrate, and, where possible, find employment in the UK.

Answered by:
Lord Harrington of Watford (Non-affiliated)
26 January 2016