Friday 18 December 2015

First 1000 Syrian refugees arrive in UK direct from Syrian refugee camps under the vulnerable persons relocation scheme

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35111321
The first 1,000 Syrian refugees have now arrived in the UK under the government's scheme to resettle vulnerable people living in refugees camps, David Cameron has said.
Charter flights have arrived in Glasgow, London Stansted and Belfast, and another is expected later.
The prime minister said he had met his pledge to bring the first 1,000 people to the UK by Christmas.
The UK government has promised to accept 20,000 Syrians over five years.
These will be drawn from established refugee camps, initially as part of the vulnerable persons relocation scheme.
More than 50 local authorities have taken a share those who have already arrived.
Alongside the vulnerable persons resettlement scheme, the UK has also granted asylum or other forms of protection to 1,868 Syrians in the year ending September 2015.
At Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Cameron told the Commons: "I said that Britain would do its duty and with these thousand we have made a very good start."
He said the government was providing funding so the refugees get access to housing, healthcare and education.
The Refugee Council's head of advocacy Lisa Doyle welcomed the news, and said the refugees would have their lives "transformed, if not saved" by the UK resettlement programme.