To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Syrian people have been resettled in the UK under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme since its launch; and what assessment she has made of the contribution made by (a) the UK and (b) other European countries to the UN goal for 30,000 Syrian refugees to be admitted to other countries by the end of 2014.
Answered on
30 June 2014
To date 50 refugees have arrived in the UK under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons
Relocation scheme (VPR). We will continue to bring groups here on a regular
basis, and envisage that several hundred people will be helped over the next three
years. The VPR scheme does not form part of the UN quota but runs in parallel
with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees' (UNHCR) own Syria
Humanitarian Admission Programme. The Government has been clear that this is a
crisis of international proportions and needs a fitting response from the
international community. The UNHCR is best placed to comment on the policies of
other countries regarding Syrian refugees. With 2.9 million refugees now in Syria's
neighbouring countries, we continue to believe that prioritising humanitarian aid is
the best way to ensure that the UK's help has the greatest impact.