To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will extend the global resettlement scheme to Sudanese refugees fleeing conflict.
Answered on
5 January 2022
The Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) closed in February 2021, having completed our commitment to resettle 20,000 refugees. A total of 20,319 refugees were resettled under this scheme.
Following the completion of VPRS, the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) was launched in March 2021. The UKRS is a global scheme with a multi-year commitment to resettle vulnerable refugees in need of protection. Refugees are identified and referred for resettlement by the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR.
Through the UKRS, we have expanded our geographical focus beyond the Middle East and North Africa to continue to offer safe and legal routes to the UK for some of the most vulnerable refugees around the world. This includes countries hosting Sudanese refugees.
Since 2015 we have resettled over 1,000 Sudanese and South Sudanese refugees across all of our resettlement schemes.