Councils praised for refugee work
RHONDDA Cynon Taf council accepted 15 refugees into the county borough over the past year, new figures have shown.
The statistics, which show they all came from Syria and Sudan and is greater than the number taken in by Cardiff, came as it was revealed two Welsh councils have accepted no refugees over the past year.
Responding to a freedom of information request to all 22 Welsh local authorities, both Merthyr Tydfil and Neath Porth Talbot councils revealed they did not take in any refugees in the past 12 months for which they have data.
The other 20 council areas, including RCT, all took in refugees. In total, at least 325 refugees have been taken in by councils in Wales over the last year, including 11 from Syria who were resettled in Cardiff.
A Merthyr Tydfil council spokesman said: “When the Syrian Resettlement Programme was first introduced the authority entered into a collaborative arrangement with a neighbouring authority that resulted in two families coming to Merthyr Tydfil in June and August of 2016.
“Our neighbouring authority also received families and due to the workload, understandably, the resource was dedicated to that authority.
“An officer from Merthyr Tydfil council was identified and provided guidance on the Syrian Resettlement Programme to support the families.
“However the two families relocated themselves outside of Merthyr Tydfil county borough and therefore under the Syrian Resettlement Programme they were no longer afforded support from Home Office funding. The Merthyr Tydfil council officer retired.
“The current financial position is challenging and the allocation of resources has had to be balanced with the experience this authority has had of families relocating to other areas within a relatively short period of arriving. Our ongoing participation remains under review.”
Bridgend resettled 31 refugees from Syria and Vale of Glamorgan took in 28 from Syria, Lebanon and Egypt. Caerphilly specified it has not “taken in” or “accepted” refugees but has “assisted the settlement” of 10 individuals from two families during the past 12 months. All were Syrian nationals resettled from the Lebanon.
Kirsty Davies-Warner, head of Oxfam Cymru, said the charity was “pleased” with how Wales has responded to the refugee crisis to date.
She said: “Since 2015, when we first called on Wales to resettle Syrian refugees, each local authority has done so.
“The majority of which had no previous experience of resettlement and have since gone above and beyond, taking in more people than they originally pledged which just goes to show how much can be achieved when the will is there.”
It comes after the British Red Cross warned refugees across Wales were being placed in “desperate and degrading situations” as the charity called on the UK and Welsh Governments to do more to help destitute refugees in Wales.