One year on from the Government’s announcement that 20,000 Syrian refugees would be resettled here, the Refugee Council is calling on the Government to ensure that all refugees in the UK receive specialist assistance to integrate into British life.
Exactly a year ago, following a campaign led by the Refugee Council, the former Prime Minister David Cameron announced Britain would resettle 20,000 refugees from Syria by 2020.
According to the latest statistics, 2,898 Syrian refugees have been resettled in the UK so far and the Home Secretary recently confirmed it has secured all 20,000 places to enable the Government to meet its target.
Refugees being resettled from countries surrounding Syria receive a tailored package of support to help them access housing, employment, education and other services so they are able to begin rebuilding their lives.
However, as the Refugee Council revealed earlier this year, these Syrian refugees’ experience stands in stark contrast to the treatment of other refugees in Britain who have been granted asylum rather than being resettled here.
The Refugee Council believes that refugees who are granted asylum should also be able to access tailored integration support.
Refugee Council Chief Executive Maurice Wren said:
Refugee Council Chief Executive Maurice Wren said: “The Syrian refugee resettlement programme is a compelling example of Britain at its best. Communities up and down the country have opened their doors and hearts to families in desperate need of shelter, and each refugee that Britain has resettled has had their life transformed, if not saved.
“The Government now must learn the lessons from the success of this programme. We need a national refugee integration strategy that ensures all refugees in Britain – not just those who are resettled here – get the specialist support they need to begin rebuilding their lives and contributing to our shared futures.”
