Council set to welcome 10 refugees in Spring 2016
Telford and Wrekin is set to welcome 10 Syrian refugees in the spring as it prepares to co-operate with the government’s scheme to allow 20,000 displaced adults into the UK.
Refugees are people who have been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution or natural disaster.
The council is also expecting to welcome three unaccompanied children into its care. These children are already in the UK.
The Syrian refugee resettlement programme will be fully funded by Central Government.
The first meeting of the Telford and Wrekin Syrian Refugee Multi Agency Steering Group took place on January 28. The next meeting is on March 14. The group includes council officers, representatives of the Clinical Commissioning Group, the emergency services, schools and public health.
The meeting agreed terms of reference and is working on developing a basic welcome guide for refugees to help them resettle in the UK.
The Council has already received a number of offers of support from members of the community, including accommodation, translation services, language skills, clothing and bedding.
Councillor Angela McClements, Telford & Wrekin Council’s cabinet member for Communities, said: “Telford is a diverse and vibrant community with a long history of welcoming those in need to our borough.
“In this instance, we have a clear humanitarian duty to support the government’s programme.
“Along with other local authorities, we have been invited by the West Midlands Strategic Migration Partnership to a regional meeting with Richard Harrington MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Syrian Refugees, to discuss the programme
“We have been absolutely clear we will welcome our fair share of refugees but we will be seeking further assurances that the scheme will be fully funded centrally.
“The scale and nature of the migration crisis that is being faced by the European Union means that the situation is very fluid so we will continue to keep our community updated on how the programme will be implemented going forward..”
