Shropshire Council to take in 10 Syrian families
Shropshire Council has confirmed that it is to house 10 Syrian families under a scheme announced by the Prime Minister, and is now on the lookout for people to help support the plans.
David Cameron announced that the UK will accept 20,000 Syrian refugees, for the period of this Parliament, under the terms of the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme.
Under the scheme people are granted humanitarian protection giving them leave to remain for five years with full access to employment and public funds.
Shropshire Council has agreed to participate and indicated that it will be in a position to accept up to 10 families from around March.
It follows an announcement last year that Telford is to take in 50 Syrian refugees over the next five years, based on the same national figure of 20,000.
The relocation programme was established as early as 2014, which was extended in September last year to reflect the growing refugee crisis which was affecting war-torn Syria.
Now councils including Shropshire Council are to lead their local resettlement programmes, and will work with key local partners to secure access to accommodation, healthcare, education and housing providers.
These providers will ensure that the refugees arriving in the area are settled in to suitable accommodation and their specific needs are met.
They will also attempt to ensure that the refugees are integrated in to local communities, live in suitable accommodation, gain support during their stay and are able to access housing-related support, health care, education, benefits advice, employment and training.
Providers will be expected to demonstrate past experience of delivering similar services, cultural competence and have a trained workforce, sensitive to the needs of refugees. Given the skills and experience required quotations will be accepted from a lead organisation wishing to sub contract some aspects of the support.
Payment will be on an hourly basis in line with the support given to each family.
Providers are asked to supply the information requested to kathryn.downton@shropshire.gov.uk by the closing date of February 9.
Shortlisted organisation will be asked to attend for interview in the week beginning February 15.
For more information go to http://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/UKSHROPSHIRE/2016/01/12/file_attachments/472912/Invitation%2Bto%2BProvide%2Ba%2BQuotation%2BFinal.pdf
About 220,000 people have been killed in Syria's civil war and 12.8 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance inside the country. Since the violence began in the county in March 2011, more than 50 per cent of Syria's population has been displaced.
In total, 104,410 resettlement places have been offered globally since the start of the Syria crisis, which equates to a mere 2.6 per cent of the total population of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt and Turkey.
