Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure refugees who arrive in the UK (a) are effectively integrated into local communities and (b) do not place a burden on local authorities.

Richard Harrington

The United Kingdom has a long and proud tradition of providing safe haven to those who genuinely need our protection. People granted refugee status are given access to the labour market and to benefits; in addition, an integration loan is available to help new refugees to integrate into UK society by offering financial support towards housing costs, employment and training.

Since 2010 we have provided over £50 million to support integration projects and activities which treat people as equal British citizens and build stronger communities where everyone can live and work successfully alongside each other.

We are working with those local authorities who have agreed to receive Syrian refugees to build systems that can meet the needs of more people more quickly whilst minimising the impact on local communities. At the Spending Review the Government committed £129 million to assist with local authority costs over years 2-5 of the scheme. The first 12 months of a refugee’s resettlement costs are fully funded by central government using the overseas aid budget.