North Yorkshire’s county and district councils, together with North Yorkshire Police and health care providers, have come together to work on a combined approach to re-settle Syrian refugees in North Yorkshire.
Following a meeting with Government officials last month, the organisations expressed their intention to work in partnership to play their part in any humanitarian response and to take in their fair share of refugees from the war in Syria. Whilst the Prime Minister has announced that the UK will take in 20,000 Syrian refugees during the next five years, the final number of refugees that can be supported in each district council area in North Yorkshire will depend on funding available from the Government in the short and long term.
In the meantime, partners are taking a comprehensive look at how they could successfully participate in the resettlement scheme. This includes looking at county wide mapping of potential areas to house refugees, capacity in terms of school places, availability of accommodation, access to services, community cohesion, financial implications and provision of resources to manage the whole process. A number of delivery options are being considered to determine which will be the most sustainable and effective.
County Councillor Carl Les, North Yorkshire’s leader said:
We have all pledged to play our part in providing relief and shelter to those Syrians who have endured unimaginable suffering.
But to give proper support we need the resources to do it and we will work with the Home Office in the coming weeks and months to agree those resources so that all partners involved can make informed decisions about how best to re-settle refugees in their areas.
