The Story So Far

July 2016

Things have moved on a pace. Refugee Action won the tender from WCC to organise the resettlement of the Syrian refugees into Worcestershire. They are working in conjunction with British Red Cross and YSS. Spring Housing is responsible for supervising housing. The housing will be all private rental.
The first refugees arrived in Redditch on 23rd June and another two families arrived on 27th July.
See news and events to keep up to date with things as they happen.

January 25th 2016

County and district leaders meet with representatives of the Home Office and West Midlands Region Strategic Migration Partnership and agree a modus operandi for the scheme. A suitable NGO or other partner is sought. As a phase 2 area, no refugees will arrive in Bromsgrove before April 2016 at the earliest. The district council asks for bids for accommodation from registered private landlords and welcomes the work of Bromsgrove & Redditch Welcome Refugees.

January 7th 2016

Central Government pledges to fund the Syrian refugees coming through VPRS for five years at a diminishing annual rate. In the first year the county will receive up to £400,000 (£8,000 per refugee). Worcestershire county and district council leaders agree to accept up to 50 refugees in the first year of the scheme.

30th September 2015

A group of us met in Bromsgrove on the 30th September to form a community group called ‘Bromsgrove & Redditch Welcome Refugees’. The idea of this group is to give community support to our local district and county councils. Our mission is to prepare, welcome and support the refugees, who come and live in Bromsgrove and district.

23rd September 2015

A motion to organise talks on Bromsgrove receiving at least 12 refugee families over the next year was carried at the latest full council meeting. It was agreed, on Wednesday (September 23), that the leader of Bromsgrove District Council, Coun Margaret Sherrey, would meet with Worcestershire County Council’s leader, Coun Adrian Hardman, to speak and agree on the support required to offer sanctuary to the Syrian people. Coun Peter McDonald said the UK was the fourth richest country in the world and there was no reason why the district should not help families in desperate need of help. Coun Sherrey said she was more than happy to support the motion.

Ref.: http://bromsgrovestandard.co.uk/news/bromsgrove-district-council-agrees-to-hold-talks-over-taking-in-syrian-refugees-12803/

17th September 2015

Worcestershire county Council passes a motion to accept refugees under the vulnerable persons’ resettlement scheme.

7th September 2015

Britain is to respond to the refugee crisis facing Europe by taking 20,000 refugees from the camps on the borders of Syria over the next five years, David Cameron has announced. Cameron told the House of Commons the UK would “live up to its moral responsibility” towards people forced from their homes by the forces of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, and the Islamic State terror group.

The prime minister said the refugees would not immediately be granted full asylum status, giving them a right to settle, but instead a humanitarian status that will allow them to apply for asylum at the end of five years.

Ref.: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/07/uk-will-accept-up-to-20000-syrian-refugees-david-cameron-confirms

2nd September 2015

Death by drowning of 3-year old Alan Kurdi

23rd June 2015

David Cameron has announced a modest increase in the numbers of Syrian refugees to be resettled in the UK under its “Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme” (VPRS). A further 200 refugees will now be accepted under the VPRS to the UK, on top of the 187 who have so far benefited from the scheme which was initially intended to provide resettlement for “several hundred” of the most vulnerable refugees. The Prime Minister emphasised, however, that the total number of resettlement places under the VPRS will not exceed 1,000.

Ref.: http://www.asylumaid.org.uk/uk-to-modestly-expand-vulnerable-persons-relocation-scheme-for-syrian-refugees/

June 2015

Worcestershire rejects a motion to welcome refugees.

December 2014

Malvern District Council passes a motion to accept refugees.

early 2014

A Malvern community group forms to welcome refugees

29 January 2014

The Home Secretary made a statement to Parliament outlining the Government’s intention to relocate to the UK some of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees, displaced to neighbouring countries by the ongoing conflict. The Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme will run in parallel with the UNHCR’s Syria Humanitarian Admission Programme (HAP). Central government will meet the costs of the arrivals in terms of accommodation and integration support, health and education costs for the first year from arrival. Individuals will be given 5 years leave to remain with full access to public funds and benefits from the point of arrival.