‘Thousands of refugees safe in UK thanks to 2015 drive’

MORE THAN 8,000 refugees have arrived in the UK and been given access to life-saving medical treatment, education and safe accommodation under the Government’s Syrian resettlement scheme, a report from the United Nations has said.

In 2015, ministers committed to taking in 20,000 Syrians driven from the war-torn country by 2020, following a public outcry over the fate of those attempting the perilous journey across the Mediterranean.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has now conducted a study, alongside the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and City University London, to monitor how those who have already arrived in the UK have integrated into their new country.

A total of 167 refugees from the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) were interviewed as part of the report, more than half of whom were previously refugees in Lebanon, with the remainder travelling from Jordan, Turkey, Egypt and Iraq.

It found that the programme was working “relatively well”, and said that refugees “were grateful for the genuine welcome they had received”.

As well as being “heartened” that their children could attend school and catch up on lost education, the refugees reported feeling safe in their homes and neighbourhoods.

The study also said the VPRS had played a “key role” in securing life-saving medical support for many resettled Syrians.

But it highlighted a number of areas for improvement, including in English language provision, and further support for housing and gaining employment.

Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, the UNHCR’s representative in London, said: “The UK clearly has the capacity to resettle meaningful numbers of refugees. Integration of refugees is complex. By and large it is working, and support for integration – from the public, local authorities and Government – has been striking.”