Councils ready to help refugees

NORTH Wales councils are gearing up to offer help to refugees fleeing war-torn countries.

The Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) wants to set-up talks with the Cardiff and Westminster governments to co-ordinate a national approach on how they can play their part in solving the crisis.

Denbighshire is the latest council to say it would accommodate families fleeing the fighting in Syria if support was provided from Westminster. Gwynedd has made a similar pledge.

The WLGA said Welsh councils could “move a step closer” to offering vital assistance to refugees after Prime Minister David Cameron announced Britain would take 20,000 in the next five years but they would need financial help to do this.

It is understood funding from the UK’s international aid budget will be used to help councils across the UK to offer housing.

The WLGA spokesman for housing, Gwynedd Council leader Cllr Dyfed Edwards, said that the response to the crisis must be “swift”.

He said: “Wales has a proud tradition of welcoming new communities, and councils across the country are poised to play their part in supporting refugee children and their families.”

First Minister Carwyn Jones has called for an urgent Wales’s summit to start making plans for a co-ordinated response to the crisis.

Last Wednesday a spokeswoman for the Welsh government said: “The First Minister believes the Welsh Government has an important co-ordination role in how Wales responds to the refugee crisis.”