Providing shelterto vulnerable
Council chiefs are planning to increase the number of Syrian refugees who resettle in North Lanarkshire by 50 per cent.
Members of the Policy and Resources Committee will today (Thursday, December 8) hear a proposal to increase numbers from 120 to 180.
The ongoing resettlement programme has been “very successful” so far since a decision was made last year to welcome refugees from the Syrian conflict.
A report going before North Lanarkshire councillors says: “The refugees have settled well into their homes are engaging well with services, all the children have settled really well into local schools and the adults are all attending English classes.
“The group are also getting involved in local community life through membership of local organisations and the development of friendships with local people.”
To date 79 refugees have been resettled in Motherwell, Airdrie, Coatbridge and Bellshill and a further group are to be resettled in Wishaw and Cumbernauld,
North Lanarkshire agreed to participate in the Syrian Resettlement programme in September 2015 and councillors were this week told: “The resettlement programme has been very successful so far.”
“The justification for this is the success of the programme so far, the welcome and support from local communities and the worsening refugee crisis in the Middle East.
“A further justification is to allow the formation of communities of significant enough scale to enable families to create social bonds within their own community and support each other. Also 13.5 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in Syria 6.1 million of those in need in Syria are internally displaced 4.8 million Syrian refugees are in neighbouring countries 8.4 million children are in need, of which 2.4 million are refugees Over 250,000 people have been killed as a result of the conflict
Over 4 million people have fled Syria since 2011, seeking safety in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and beyond as the programme spreads across North Lanarkshire reasonable numbers are important in allowing partners to design and provide effective support services, for example, in the delivery of ESOL classes (English for Speakers of Other Languages).
“Areas for resettlement are chosen based on housing availability and school capacity. To date the average family size resettled is just under four persons therefore it is anticipated an additional 15 houses will be required to accommodate the additional numbers and these will be a combination of council houses and housing association properties.”
The first group of refugees settled in Airdrie and Coatbridge after their arrival between November 2015 and January this year.
The second group of refugees arrived in North Lanarkshire during the summer from temporary camps in Lebanon, Turkey and Egypt after fleeing violence in Syria. Motherwell and Bellshill were chosen to accommodate the families because of the availability of homes and school places. South Lanarkshire Council have also welcomed refugees from Syria.
They have been settling in the wider Hamilton and Rutherglen areas since December 2015 as part of the local authority’s commitment to accommodate up to 60 men, women and children – approximately 12 to 15 families – in the first year of the initiative.
The Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (SVPRS) provides assistance to Syrians who have fled to neighbouring countries as a result of conflict in their homeland, including survivors of violence and torture, women and children who are at risk, and people who need medical care.
The UK Government has expanded the SVPRS to resettle 20,000 refugees from camps neighbouring Syria by 2020. The Scottish Government has said that Scotland should accept 1000 refugees as a starting point. Funding arrangements which cover the cost of the council’s participation in the SVPRS have been confirmed by the Home Office and the Scottish Government.
Families are given humanitarian protection and can remain in the UK for five years, qualifying for full access to public assistance and funds.
In August, the Advertiser reported another two Syrian refugee families were arriving elsewhere in South Lanarkshire – one in East Kilbride and another in Cambuslang.
At that point, South Lanarkshire had resettled 31 people in two communities – Rutherglen and Hamilton. Two refugee families fleeing the horrors of war-ravaged Syria arrived in Hamilton to start a new life earlier in the summer.