Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many asylum seekers and refugees have been dispersed by the Home Office to Northern Ireland in each of the past five years, and how many from Syria, Afghanistan, Hong Kong and Ukraine in the relevant official schemes.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The number of supported asylum seekers and refugees in Northern Ireland in each of the past five years were as follows:
Immigration group | As at 31 March 2021 | As at 31 March 2022 | As at 31 March 2023 | As at 31 March 2024 | As at 31 March 2025 |
Supported Asylum seekers | 912 | 1,404 | 3,030 | 2,765 | 2,637 |
Afghan Resettlement Programme | Scheme not open | Data not available | Data not available | 203 | 305 |
Homes for Ukraine (arrivals) | Scheme not open | Data not available | Data not available | 1,502 | 1,949 |
Please note that Asylum seekers are accommodated in Northern Ireland only if they apply for asylum there. These figures are a snapshot as at 31 March for the last 5 years.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Yazidis have been resettled to the UK from (a) Iraq and (b) Syria in each year since 2014.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK partners with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to resettle refugees in accordance with their standard resettlement criteria.
Individual ethnic and religious backgrounds are not part of this consideration, and the Home Office does not therefore collate or publish this information.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the safe and voluntary return to Syria of Syrian refugees.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As I made clear in my Statement to the House on 10 March, Syria faces an ongoing humanitarian crisis, with the UN reporting 16.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. We agree with the UN's assessment that the conditions in Syria are not currently suitable for large-scale refugee returns. With the international community, we are providing vital humanitarian and development support to Syrians in Syria and those displaced across the region. The UK has provided over £4.3 billion in aid to date, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the safe return of refugees to their homes in Northeast Syria.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The security situation in Northeast Syria remains unstable and we are concerned about the impact that current tensions may have on the civilian population and on civilian infrastructure. Northeast Syria also faces an ongoing humanitarian crisis, with 82 per cent of the population in need of humanitarian assistance. We are working through diplomatic, security and humanitarian channels to monitor and address these issues. Syrians are best placed to make decisions regarding their own future, and we will continue to support refugees and host countries while the situation across Syria remains uncertain. It is essential that international law is respected and that any returns are safe, voluntary, and dignified.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the displacement of people in Syria since December 2024.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues to monitor displacement in Syria and provide vital assistance to support those displaced inside Syria and across the region. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that over one million people have been internally displaced in Syria since 27 November 2024. As of 30 January, the UN's Refugee Agency, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), estimate that some 237,000 Syrians have returned to Syria. Since the fall of Assad, the UK has announced a further £61 million in humanitarian assistance to support vulnerable Syrians inside Syria and across the region.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of Syrian refugees (a) in the UK and (b) globally who are returning to Syria.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Home Office publishes data on asylum seekers and refugees who come to the UK in the 'Immigration System Statistics' quarterly release. The Home Office does not track the addresses of individuals once they have been granted refugee status, and refugees are free to move around or leave the UK.
As of 30 January, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimate that some 237,000 Syrians have returned to Syria since the fall of Assad. These figures include Syrians returning from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt, as well those transiting from beyond the region.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies on Syria of the fall of the Bashar al-Assad government.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
After decades of atrocities committed by the Assad regime, we stand with the people of Syria. The UK has been at the forefront of the response to fast moving events, engaging regularly with regional, UN and international partners, calling for a Syrian-owned political transition process leading to an inclusive, non-sectarian and representative government. We have scaled up our humanitarian response, announcing a further £61 million to support vulnerable Syrians inside Syria and refugees across the region. We continue to monitor the situation closely.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on the asylum applications of Palestinian refugees who were formerly residents of Syria and left under the Assad regime.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Home Office acted swiftly to temporarily pause decisions on Syrian asylum claims whilst we assess the current situation. This includes Syrian nationals as well as those who have previously been habitually resident in Syria.
We keep all country guidance relating to asylum claims under constant review so we can respond to emerging issues.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department's policy is on Syrian immigrants who have been granted leave to remain status.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Any Syrian nationals who are resident in the UK with valid permission to stay will need to apply for further permission to stay or settle before their current permission to stay expires. For Syrian refugees who apply for settlement protection after five years residency in the UK, in line with published policies, a safe return review will be undertaken to assess whether it is safe for the applicant to return to Syria.
For more information on the settlement protection policy, please see: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/settlement-protection-asylum-policy-instruction.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding his Department has allocated to organisations supporting the delivery of aid in Gaza since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has now announced £112 million for the Occupied Palestinian Territories so far this financial year, providing vital services to civilians in Gaza and the West Bank delivered through partner agencies. As part of this total, since July we have announced that the UK would reinstate £21m funding to UNRWA including £1m to implement the recommendations of the Colonna report, £5.5m for UK-MED to operate field hospitals in Gaza, £6 million for UNICEF to support vulnerable families in Gaza, in addition to UK-Kuwait joint funding totalling £4.5 million for UNICEF to continue their lifesaving aid in Gaza and Yemen, £1m to support the Egyptian Ministry of Health to care for medically evacuated Palestinians, £6m to both OCHA and WFP and £7 million of new UK funding to UNRWA's Flash Humanitarian Appeal for Gaza. On 11 December we announced an additional £13 million for UNRWA to provide essential services to Palestinian refugees in the OPTs, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.