Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the possibility of enabling people from endangered (1) ethnic, and (2) religious, communities in (a) Iraq, and (b) Syria, to be considered for resettlement in the UK; and how many people in each of these categories have been resettled to the UK in each year since 2014.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Refugee resettlement to the UK is based on need, as assessed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) who adhere to humanitarian principles including impartiality, rather than any specific ethnicity or religion.
Refugee resettlement statistics are published through official statistics at quarterly intervals. These statistics can be broken down by nationality. We do not publish data on ethnicity or religious affiliation. The next set of statistics will be published in August and will include the number of people resettled up to end of June 2021. These are available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release
As set out in the New Plan for Immigration, the UK will continue to work with the UNHCR to ensure our resettlement schemes are accessible and fair, resettling refugees from countries where the need is greatest, and ensuring those in need of resettlement can access it.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of people likely to be resettled this year under the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme; and how that figure compares to (1) 2018, and (2) 2019.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
In December 2020, the UK resumed resettlement following a pause due to the pandemic. On 25 February 2021 the Government met its target of resettling 20,000 refugees who have fled the conflict in Syria through the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme. Since then, the Government has continued to welcome refugees through the global UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS).
The number of refugees we resettle every year will depend on a variety of factors including local authorities’ capacity for supporting those we resettle and the extent to which Community Sponsorship continues to thrive. This year, the recovery from the pandemic will be a significant factor affecting capacity. We are working closely with our partners to assess the capacity for resettlement in the months ahead and will continue to welcome those in need in the years to come.
The numbers of refugees resettled are published through official statistics at quarterly intervals. The next set of statistics will be published in July and will include the number of people resettled since March. These are available from:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many individuals have been resettled under its Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme since the scheme restarted.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
In December 2020, the UK resumed resettlement following a pause due to the pandemic. On 25 February 2021 the Government met its target of resettling 20,000 refugees who have fled the conflict in Syria through the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme. Since then, the Government has continued to welcome refugees through the global UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS).
The numbers of refugees resettled are published through official statistics at quarterly intervals. The next set of statistics will be published in July and will include the number of people resettled since March. These are available from:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to assist the closure of refugee camps in (1) Syria, and (2) nearby countries; and what plans they have to help resettle refugees currntly in Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK's policy is that refugee returns must be voluntary, safe and dignified. Whilst we hope 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. Understandably, the key concern of the majority of Syrian refugees when considering returning home is personal safety and safety of their families. In the meantime, the UK has spent at least £1.99 billion since 2012 to support 5.5 million refugees in the region, as well as host communities in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to introduce targets for resettling refugees under the new global UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) that will commence on completion of the Vulnerable Persons and Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Schemes, announced in March 2021.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) commenced in March 2021 following the successful completion of the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme through which 20,000 refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria were given sanctuary in the UK. Through the UKRS we continue to welcome vulnerable refugees in need of protection to the UK.
The number of refugees we resettle every year will depend on a variety of factors including local authorities’ capacity for supporting those we resettle and the extent to which Community Sponsorship continues to thrive. This year, the recovery across Government from the pandemic will be a significant factor affecting capacity, along with levels of illegal immigration. We are working closely with our partners to assess the capacity for resettlement in the months ahead and will continue to welcome those in need in the years to come.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that recipients of aid from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency are evaluated on criteria based on need.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK is a longstanding supporter of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). We recognise UNRWA's unique mandate from the UN General Assembly (UNGA), to protect and provide protection and core services to Palestinian refugees across Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Officials are in regular contact with UNRWA to ensure high quality aid delivery and judge that UNRWA is effective in allocating resources on the basis of need.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the UK Resettlement Scheme since March; how many people have been resettled to the UK since March; from which countries those people originated; and, further to their announcement on 17 June 2019, what progress they have made in introducing the mechanism for emergency resettlement.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The UK Resettlement Scheme commenced in February 2021, immediately following the successful completion of the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme through which 20,000 refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria were given sanctuary in the UK. The UK Resettlement Scheme continues to successfully resettle refugees, as local authority and community sponsor capacity allows, and as we recover from the pandemic.
Statistics under the scheme are published through official statistics at quarterly intervals. The next set of statistics will be published in July and will include the number of people resettled since March. These are available from:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release
The Emergency Resettlement Mechanism is currently in development. It will ensure the resettlement scheme allows refugees at exceptional and immediate risk to be resettled more quickly.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
What recent steps the Government has taken to support refugees and internally displaced people overseas.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK remains at the forefront of refugee responses around the world. In March, the Foreign Secretary announced ‘at least £205 million’ to the Syria Crisis, bringing our total support to over £3.7 billion since 2012.
We continue to be one of the lead donors to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), supporting its efforts to provide assistance to vulnerable refugees in some of the most challenging environments around the world.
The UK is also one of the largest bilateral donors to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment, supporting access to vaccines in up to 92 low and middle-income countries, aiming to supply 1.3 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines before the end of 2021.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support his Department is providing to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in response to the drought being experienced in that country.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Jordan is a close and valued partner and we are providing significant support to Jordan's economic resilience and to meet the needs of its most vulnerable people. Since the start of the Syria crisis in 2011, the UK has spent over £500m to support Jordanian stability, including humanitarian aid and investment in education and job opportunities, for Syrian refugees and vulnerable Jordanians.
We recognise the pressure of water scarcity in Jordan. The Prime Minister discussed the effects of climate change and efforts to protect biodiversity in the Middle East in his call with His Majesty King Abdullah on 13 April. Jordan is also a member of the Adaptation Action Coalition which works to build resilience to the effects of climate change.
Asked by: Steve Double (Conservative - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what contribution the armed forces have made towards the delivery of humanitarian relief and other forms of overseas aid in the last three years.
Answered by James Heappey
Defence assets are regularly used to facilitate transport of UK emergency relief to countries impacted by natural disasters. The delivery of emergency aid to the Caribbean following Hurricanes Iota (2020) and Dorian (2019) and to Mozambique (2019) following Cyclone Idai are just few of many examples of the military's contribution to global disaster relief efforts.
In support to the FCDO's International aid programme, Official Development Assistance (ODA), Defence has also facilitated the transportation of humanitarian aid to ODA eligible countries, such as vital UK aid to refugees on the Turkey-Syria border in 2020.
British military overseas activity in response to COVID-19 falls under Operation Broadshare. Over the last year Defence has been vital in transporting vaccines and medical equipment to affected British overseas territories and UK overseas military bases. Defence continues to support the COVID response in other nations where appropriate.