Found: closely with Tajikistan in UNHCR and other relevant multilateral institutions to accelerate these refugees

Found: UNHCR resettled 39,266 refugees to third countries, and 1,595 to the UK.6 For the vast majority of refugees

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funds he plans to provide for the UK’s Global Refugee Forum 2023 pledge on continued support for the integration of refugees in the UK.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

As pledged at the Global Refugee Forum 2023, the Government remains committed to enabling resettled refugees in rebuilding their lives in the UK. That is why refugees, as well as individuals arriving via our resettlement schemes with Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK, have access to mainstream benefits and services to support their integration.

The Home Office also provides local authorities with a core tariff of £20,520 per person to cover resettlement and integration costs for those who arrive through the UK Resettlement Scheme, the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme or the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy. In the first year, local authorities also receive up to £4,500 per child for education and £850 to cover additional English language provision for adults, and health partners receive £2,600 per individual to cover healthcare.

Those granted protection through the asylum system are offered support from Migrant Help or their partner organisation. This support includes providing advice on accessing the labour market, on applying for Universal Credit, and signposting to local authorities for assistance with housing.

Refugees who arrived through safe and legal routes or were granted Refugee Permission to Stay on or after 28 June 2022 have access to the Refugee Employability Programme (REP). This launched in England in September 2023 and delivers a range of activities to support refugees, including employment, English language and integration support.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding he plans to allocate to refugee integration in 2024.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

As pledged at the Global Refugee Forum 2023, the Government remains committed to enabling resettled refugees in rebuilding their lives in the UK. That is why refugees, as well as individuals arriving via our resettlement schemes with Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK, have access to mainstream benefits and services to support their integration.

The Home Office also provides local authorities with a core tariff of £20,520 per person to cover resettlement and integration costs for those who arrive through the UK Resettlement Scheme, the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme or the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy. In the first year, local authorities also receive up to £4,500 per child for education and £850 to cover additional English language provision for adults, and health partners receive £2,600 per individual to cover healthcare.

Those granted protection through the asylum system are offered support from Migrant Help or their partner organisation. This support includes providing advice on accessing the labour market, on applying for Universal Credit, and signposting to local authorities for assistance with housing.

Refugees who arrived through safe and legal routes or were granted Refugee Permission to Stay on or after 28 June 2022 have access to the Refugee Employability Programme (REP). This launched in England in September 2023 and delivers a range of activities to support refugees, including employment, English language and integration support.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the debate on the Integration of migrants and refugees at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 21 June 2023.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

The UK has a proud history of providing protection to those that need it. Since 2015, over half a million people have been offered safe and legal routes into the UK. This includes those from Hong Kong, Syria, Afghanistan, and Ukraine, as well as family members of refugees.

This Government is committed to ensuring that refugees arriving through safe and legal routes can take positive steps towards integration as they rebuild their lives in the UK.

All refugees and those granted protection in the UK have immediate access to the labour market and to mainstream benefits and services that support their integration. We are already working successfully with local authorities, strategic migration partners and community sponsors to implement measures that assist integration and enable self-sufficiency. The Home Office provides local authorities with funding to cover resettlement and integration costs for those who arrive through the UK Resettlement Scheme, the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme or the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy.

We are further delivering on our commitment to strengthen support for refugees through our Refugee Transitions Outcomes Fund (RTOF) and Refugee Employability Programme (REP) helping them to move into work, learn English, access housing and build links in their local communities.

We monitor and evaluate our programmes of support, to better understand refugee needs and integration outcomes.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many referrals were made by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to (1) the UK Resettlement Scheme, (2) Community Sponsorship, (3) the Mandate Resettlement Scheme, and (4) the Family Reunion Scheme, in each of the past three years; and how many referrals were not accepted in each of those schemes.

Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth

Between 2015 and March 2023, just over half a million people were offered safe and legal routes into the UK. This includes those from Hong Kong, Syria, Afghanistan, and Ukraine, as well as family members of refugees, alongside our global resettlement schemes. The UK continues to welcome refugees and people in need through existing resettlement schemes and is one of the largest recipients of UNHCR referred refugees globally, second only to Sweden in Europe since 2015.

Under these schemes, the UNHCR will refer refugees for resettlement after undertaking an assessment of people’s needs and vulnerabilities. The UK does not seek to influence which cases are referred by the UNHCR under these global schemes.

Family Reunion is not referral based. It is an application based route.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of statelessness as an obstacle to the resettlement of refugees and internally displaced persons internationally and in the UK.

Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth

The UK has a proud history of supporting refugees and since 2015, the UK has resettled over 28,200 individuals under our UNHCR resettlement schemes, including stateless individuals.

The UK is proud to welcome refugees through our current resettlement schemes, including the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Community Sponsorship and the Mandate Resettlement Scheme.

UNHCR has responsibility for all out-of-country casework activity relating to the UK’s resettlement schemes, including the identification of people, assessment of their needs and referral to the UK for consideration. Given UNHCR’s mandate covers both refugees and stateless persons, they are expertly placed to help the UK authorities to identify and process vulnerable refugees, including those who are stateless, that would benefit from resettlement in this country.

Individuals coming through our resettlement schemes are assessed and referred by the UNHCR according to their submission criteria, which is based on people’s needs and vulnerabilities, and the UK does not intervene in decisions made under the criteria.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people settled in the UK through the (a) UK Resettlement Scheme, (b) Community Sponsorship Scheme and (c) Mandate Resettlement Scheme between January 2022 and April 2023.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

The Home Office publishes data on resettlement in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on refugees resettled in the UK by scheme can be found in table Asy_D02 of the ‘asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. The latest data relate to the year ending December 2022. Data for the year ending March 2023 will be published on 25 May 2023. Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Murray of Blidworth on 22 March (HL6242), what were the figures for each year from 2013 to 2022.

Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth

Between 2013 and 2022, 30,055 people have been resettled to the UK through UNHCR resettlement routes. The UK ranks 3rd highest of European countries over this period.

The Home Office publishes data on resettlement in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on refugees resettled in the UK by scheme can be found in table Asy_D02 of the ‘asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. The latest data relate to the year ending December 2022.

UNHCR resettlement routes include the Gateway Protection Programme, Mandate Scheme, Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS), Vulnerable Children Resettlement Scheme (VCRS), UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Community Sponsorship Scheme and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme Pathway 2.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Murray of Blidworth on 22 March (HL6242), how many of those 30,055 people resettled in the UK through UNHCR routes were resettled since 2015.

Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth

Between 2015 and 2022, 28,302 people have been resettled to the UK through UNHCR resettlement routes. The UK ranks 2nd highest of European countries over this period.

Between 2015 and 2022, people were offered safe and legal routes into the UK via BN(O) Hong Kong Visas (153,708 visas granted), Ukraine Visa and Extension Schemes (233,770 visas granted), family reunion visas (44,659 visas granted) and established resettlement or relocation schemes (49,667 people).

Of the 49,667 people resettled or relocated over this period, 28,302 were through UNHCR resettlement routes and 21,365 were through non-UNHCR routes (i.e. Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme Pathway 1 and Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy).

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government which countries the 887 refugees who were granted resettlement through the UK Resettlement Scheme in 2022 come from.

Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth

The Home Office publishes data on resettlement in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’ on GOV.uk. Data on refugees resettled under the UK Resettlement Scheme by nationality and host country can be found in table Asy_D02 of the ‘asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’ on GOV.uk. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. The latest data relate to the year ending December 2022.

The top 5 nationalities resettled under the UK Resettlement Scheme in 2022 were Syria, Sudan, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The top 5 host countries where refugees were identified as requiring resettlement by the UNHCR in 2022 were Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, and Iraq.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what quotas they place on the numbers of persons to be resettled on the recommendation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth

The UK does not set a quota on the overall number of persons to be resettled on the recommendation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what criteria they apply when considering applications for resettlement from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is uniquely placed to help identify and refer the most vulnerable individuals for resettlement in accordance with their standard resettlement submission categories. These are based on people’s needs and vulnerabilities

We do not seek to intervene in or influence UNHCR’s selection processes.

The seven resettlement submission categories used by UNHCR are set out here:

https://www.unhcr.org/46f7c0ee2.pdf

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many persons identified by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as needing resettlement in the UK have been so resettled in each of the last 10 years.

Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth

Between 2013 and 2022, 30,055 people have been resettled to the UK through UNHCR resettlement routes. The UK ranks 3rd highest of European countries over this period.

Between 2013 and 2022, people were offered safe and legal routes into the UK via the following:

- 153,708 BN(O) Hong Kong Visas

- 233,770 visas granted under Ukraine Visa and Extension Schemes

- 53,230 family reunion visas

- 51,420 resettled or relocated. 30,055 resettled through UNHCR resettlement routes and 21,365 through non-UNHCR routes (i.e. Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme Pathway 1 and Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy).

Found: Refugees: Resettlement 01 Mar 2024 | 16047 Asked by: Olivia Blake To ask the Secretary of State

Found: To attract more reception partners and create more reception places for resettled refugees, resettlement