Migration Debate

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Department: Home Office
Wednesday 16th September 2015

(9 years, 2 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Baroness May of Maidenhead Portrait Mrs May
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The work we are doing at the moment is based on the Prime Minister’s announcement of our helping 20,000 refugees directly from the region.

Peter Kyle Portrait Peter Kyle (Hove) (Lab)
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From my experience of working in a previous refugee crisis, I know that the UNHCR is one of the most overstretched and underfunded of UN organisations. Now that the Government are relying so heavily on the UNHCR to help them with this crisis, can the Home Secretary assure us that it is adequately resourced and that British officials are working alongside in situ?

Baroness May of Maidenhead Portrait Mrs May
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Yes. That is exactly one of the issues that I discussed with António Guterres when I saw him on Monday—we stand ready to provide support, probably in the form of personnel who can help to bolster the UNHCR effort to the extent that it requires. He already has plans for refocusing some of its effort to ensure that such support can be provided, but if further support is needed in the form of people in situ, we stand ready to provide it.