Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people (a) applied and (b) successfully resettled in Northern Ireland under the Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme in 2013 and 2014.

The Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme was launched in January 2014 to help particularly vulnerable Syrians who are displaced in the regions neighbouring Syria, for whom resettlement to the UK is the only option. In particular, the programme prioritises survivors of torture and violence, women and children at risk and those in need of medical care. We are working closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the region to identify the exceptional cases whose needs are so profound that they need to be resettled to a country like the UK.

Individuals do not apply but are referred by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Northern Ireland is not currently participating in the scheme.

143 people were relocated to the UK under the Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme between the first group of arrivals on 25 March 2014 and the end of December 2014. This is the latest publicly available figure, as numbers are released as part of the Home Office official statistics each quarter.