Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the need for special education facilities to educate young people coming to the UK as a result of the conflict in Syria; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Timpson

The Government is wholly committed to ensuring that Syrian refugees who are resettled in the UK receive appropriate support and have a positive experience while they remain in the UK. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is conducting detailed assessments of the needs of all Syrian refugees who are to be re-settled in the UK, including any special educational facilities required by children. These are forwarded to host local authorities prior to the families’ arrival in the UK and will help to ensure that their needs are matched to the availability of local facilities. Based on the experience of the first 1000 arrivals, the government is in the process of assessing the longer term and wider requirements for specialist provision arising from the Prime Minister’s pledge to re-settle 20,000 refugees during the life-time of this Parliament.