Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they agree with the International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) call for Europe to resettle 108,000 refugees each year for the next five years; and whether they accept the arguments in the IRC’s situation briefing dated 24 March.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Government considers the resettlement of targeted groups of refugees, particularly the most vulnerable, to be a vital part of the international response to the current migration crisis. However, we do not support the setting of binding quotas or targets by any organisation, either at European or international level. In our view national resettlement schemes, run and co-ordinated with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and other partners, is the best way for each country to make its own contribution.

We have committed to resettling 20,000 vulnerable Syrians over the lifetime of this Parliament and we saw the first 1,000 arrive before Christmas 2015. This is in addition to the other resettlement schemes that we operate, including Gateway, under which 750 refugees from all over the world are resettled each year.

Resettlement is only one strand of the Government’s efforts. It complements our significant humanitarian aid programme, including £2.3 billion to the Syria region, and diplomatic efforts to end the conflict in Syria. The Government is clear that this approach is the best way to ensure that the UK’s help has the greatest impact for the majority of refugees who remain in the region and their host countries surrounding Syria.