Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent discussions has he had with the Home Secretary on (a) the supply of housing available for asylum seekers and (b) addressing any shortages in that supply.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The UK has a long and proud history of welcoming migrants including recent arrivals from Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria and Hong Kong.
Our respective departments work closely to ensure that those whom we welcome to our country have access to the support and services they need, including a place to live. The Secretary of State for DLUHC launched the Homes for Ukraine Scheme on 14 March 2022 in support of Ukrainian arrivals.
Other schemes and support are available for refugees fleeing conflicts in other parts of the world.
As has been the case under successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of humanitarian assistance provided to Syrian refugees living in Lebanon given the overlapping economic, health, and political crises in that country.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The UK is committed to supporting Lebanon to meet the humanitarian needs of both refugees and vulnerable Lebanese communities, and to provide quality education to all children. The UK has been one of the leading donors in supporting Lebanon to host Syrian refugees and ensures our implementing partners target support on the basis of comprehensive needs assessments. Since 2011, the UK has allocated over £787 million in humanitarian and development funding to Lebanon. Our humanitarian assistance will continue to promote access to education and provide those most in need with timely, flexible assistance to cover their basic survival needs, saving lives and reducing suffering.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with representatives of the UNHCR on the establishment of credible mechanisms to actively monitor the protection situation inside Syria and the conditions for safe, voluntary and dignified return to Syria for refugees who wish to do so.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
While the UK Government hopes that Syrian refugees will, ultimately, be able to return home, we agree with the UN judgement that conditions in Syria do not currently allow this. We are engaged with the UNHCR on its framework review which will address these issues more closely. However, only a political solution under UN Security Council Resolution 2254 can ensure conditions safe for returns. UN Envoy Geir Pedersen has our full support in this effort.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to monitor and reduce the number of forced deportations of Syrian refugees from (a) Lebanon, (b) Turkey and (c) other neighbouring countries.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Syrians have a right to return to their homes voluntarily, in safety and dignity, in line with International Refugee, Human rights and Humanitarian Law. Any Syrian refugees volunteering to return to Syria must be doing so of their own free will as verified by UNHCR. Involuntary or forced returns (refoulement) are a violation of International Refugee, Human rights and Humanitarian Law.
The UK recognises the generosity of Turkey, Lebanon and other neighbouring counties in hosting millions of refugees from Syria and elsewhere. Our strong bilateral relationship and dialogue with Turkey on humanitarian and development issues ensure we remain engaged on the issue of refugees.
Likewise with Lebanon and other neighbouring countries where we have made it clear it is important they abide by the international commitments they have made on refugees and continue to uphold the principles of non-refoulement to enable refugee registration by UNHCR to resume.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the visa application regime for Ukrainian refugees to refugees from (a) Syria and (b) Afghanistan.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Ukraine Family Scheme and Homes for Ukraine Scheme have been developed in response to the very specific circumstances of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and are designed to help Ukrainians fleeing the conflict.
The Ukrainian Schemes have been designed in light of very different circumstances to those which led to the Government’s Syrian and Afghan resettlement schemes. The Government has no plans to extend eligibility for its Ukrainian Visa Application Schemes to refugees from Syria or Afghanistan.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if the Government will provide the same package of support to local authorities for Ukrainian refugees as for Afghan refugees.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The UK has a long and proud history of welcoming people, including recent arrivals from Syria, Afghanistan and Hong Kong. Every scheme is different and learns from the successes or challenges of those before.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine, which prompted the Government’s humanitarian response, is a very different set of circumstances to those which led to the Government’s other humanitarian schemes; and these different circumstances require different responses.
Under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, sponsors are offered a thank you payment of £350 per month for up to twelve months. The Government will provide funding of £10,500 per person to local authorities to enable them to provide support to families and integrate them into communities.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to expand the Homes for Ukraine scheme to refugees from other conflicts, such as in Afghanistan, so they are not required to stay in bridging accommodation.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
As set out in the FAQs on Homes for Ukraine, the UK has a long and proud history of welcoming migrants including recent arrivals from Syria, Afghanistan and Hong Kong. Every scheme is different and learns from the successes or challenges of those before. There has been a sponsorship route in operation for some years, and Homes for Ukraine is a developed version of that. We will look to see whether there are lessons we can apply from this scheme in future.
Where members of the public also wish to help Afghans or other refugees, we would encourage them to do so through working with their local authority, or through the Community Sponsorship scheme.
I refer the Hon Member to the following link: https://www.gov.uk/help-afghanistan/helping-people-to-settle-in-the-uk.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to work with (a) other donors and (b) the UNHCR to strengthen support for (i) mechanisms to monitor the protection situation in Syria and (ii) the conditions for safe, voluntary and dignified returns in that country.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The UK, along with the likeminded international community, continue to call upon all parties to the conflict in Syria to uphold International Humanitarian Law and protect civilians. The UK supports humanitarian, accountability and legal organisations to monitor, document, report, gather evidence on and investigate human rights and international humanitarian law violations.
Whilst the UK Government hopes that Syrian refugees will, ultimately, be able to return home, we agree with the UN judgement that conditions in Syria do not currently allow this. We are engaged with UNHCR on its framework review which will address these issues more closely. However, only a political solution under UN Security Council Resolution 2254 can ensure conditions safe for returns. UN Envoy Geir Pedersen has our full support in this effort.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to investigate who is responsible for reported attacks against refugee and Internally Displaced Persons camps in (1) Northern Syria, and (2) Iraq; and what steps they will take to ensure that the perpetrators do not undertake such attacks in future.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware of reports of attacks carried out by Turkey in both Northern Iraq and Syria and continue to follow the situation closely. FCDO Ministers and senior officials regularly reiterate the need for dialogue and cooperation between Iraq and Turkey to combat terrorism, ensure regional security, and protect civilians. We welcome recent discussions between Iraqi and Turkish Defence Ministers regarding Ankara's military operations against the PKK in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. We welcome the fact that the ceasefire in north west Syria agreed by Turkey and Russia in March 2020 is broadly holding. We are concerned by increased violence in recent months, including frequent airstrikes and daily artillery shelling. It is essential that all parties to the conflict respect the ceasefire and allow humanitarian access. We urge all parties to increase their efforts to adhere to it.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of bombings carried out on 1 February in (1) Iraq, and (2) Northern Syria, which targeted refugee and Internally Displaced People camps, resulting in (a) multiple casualties, and (b) destruction.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware of reports of attacks carried out by Turkey in both Northern Iraq and Syria and continue to follow the situation closely. FCDO Ministers and senior officials regularly reiterate the need for dialogue and cooperation between Iraq and Turkey to combat terrorism, ensure regional security, and protect civilians. We welcome recent discussions between Iraqi and Turkish Defence Ministers regarding Ankara's military operations against the PKK in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. We welcome the fact that the ceasefire in north west Syria agreed by Turkey and Russia in March 2020 is broadly holding. We are concerned by increased violence in recent months, including frequent airstrikes and daily artillery shelling. It is essential that all parties to the conflict respect the ceasefire and allow humanitarian access. We urge all parties to increase their efforts to adhere to it.