Legal News

Essex County Council leader Councillor David Finch has said that the county will continue to play its part in supporting Syrian refugees arriving in the UK.

Essex has accepted four families from Syria under the government’s resettlement programme for vulnerable refugees living in camps along the Syrian border.

The families arrived into Colchester the week before Christmas – the UK government made a commitment to welcome 1,000 refugees into the UK before Christmas.

It is anticipated that 20 families will be arriving in the county over the coming year and the UNHCR – the UN’s refugee agency – is identifying specific families who have been displaced and ensuring they are security checked before travelling to Britain.

The government has appointed a minister for Syrian Refugees –
Richard Harrington – who said:

“I am delighted we have reached the Prime Minister’s target to resettle one thousand Syrian refugees by Christmas.

“This has been possible because of an incredible amount of effort and support from local authorities across the UK – including Essex.

“There is still a great deal of work to do as we offer protection and a new start to a total of twenty thousand vulnerable Syrians over the course of this Parliament.

“The ongoing support and co-operation of local authorities, non-governmental organisations and others will be essential as we expand the resettlement scheme further in the coming months.”

Leader of Essex County Council, Cllr David Finch, added:

“Essex has a long and proud history of stepping up to support those in need –
and I would like to thank all of our district and borough council partners who have worked with us to ensure we can provide assistance.

“We made a commitment that Essex would play its part to help people fleeing from the humanitarian crisis in Syria – and I am delighted that we have been able to work together along with local faith leaders and charities to welcome four families in time for their first British Christmas.

“You cannot underestimate or begin to understand some of the horrors that these families had endured – and it is only right that we continue to show the compassion that they so badly need.”

The government is providing extra financial support to local councils for the first year of resettlement of refugees – many refugees are being housed by local authorities in private rented accommodation, rather than in council-owned homes.

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