At a meeting of COSLA on Friday 27th May, Council Leaders were provided with an update on the latest position with regard to the Syrian refugee resettlement programme.
The work that local authorities have done over a very short period of time has been nothing short of remarkable and has resulted in almost 800 refugees being resettled in Scotland since last Autumn.
When the UK Government announced the extension of their Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme (now known as the Syrian Resettlement Programme, or SRP) in September 2015, all 32 councils were very quick to express their support for the scheme and their willingness to be involved in whatever way they could.
As a result, by Christmas 2015, 16 Scottish local authorities had resettled 400 Syrian refugees. This was 40% of the total number that had arrived in the UK. By the end of May 2016, that number will have risen to close to 800 refugees across 28 local authorities, with a steady flow of up to 100 refugees arriving in Scotland every month.
The aim of resettling 10% of the UK’s total commitment by the end of the current UK Parliament, therefore, seems to be well within reach.
West Dunbartonshire Council like all Scottish Local Authorities is supporting refugees and is participating in the Vulnerable Persons Relocation programme assisting Syrians seeking sanctuary from a civil war.
The Council also accommodates other recognised refugees through the UK Gateway Protection Programme which is the UKs contribution to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees global resettlement programme.
Notes:
- COSLA secured an agreement that the resettlement should be local authority led and based on a voluntary contractual agreement between the Home Office and local authorities that have the capacity to receive refugees.
- COSLA also secured multi-year funding for councils’ involvement in the scheme; a first for a humanitarian protection scheme of this nature.
- At an operational level, the last eight months have seen COSLA’s Migration, Population and Diversity Team develop a significant body of work to support local authorities in their resettlement work.
- In the first instance, this involved supporting them to make informed decisions about their participation and assisting them in planning the reception and integration of refugees, drawing upon existing expertise and best practice.
- The COSLA SRP Officer Group has been the main mechanism by which this has been achieved. It initially met every three weeks, but more recently has moved to a six-weekly cycle and involves representation from all 32 councils in Scotland.
- COSLA has also developed an online Knowledge Hub that allows key officers involved in local resettlement efforts to share information and documentation and ask questions of each other.
- This has been a very successful means of sharing learning and resources and is a model that has now been replicated in other parts of the UK.
West Dunbartonshire Councillor Martin Rooney 