JUST a fraction of the Syrian refugees David Cameron promised to rescue from Middle Eastern camps have been given homes in the UK, it has emerged.
Cameron pledged to bring 20,000 displaced Syrians from refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon by 2020, a figure criticised by campaigners as too low.
New Home Office figures reveal only 2,646 have been brought to the UK under the official resettlement scheme, which allows participants to live in Britain for five years.
The Refugee Council said progress has been “slow”, with the charity’s advocacy head Dr Lisa Doyle saying: “There is absolutely no reason why a country as welcoming and wealthy as Britain would be unable to fulfil its pledge to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees by 2020; after all, it’s only the equivalent of each constituency welcoming one family a year.”
A total of 1,085 people were flown to the UK under the scheme between October and December last year, with the number plummeting to just 517 in the first three months of 2016.
Another 1,044 were then received between April and the end of June.
More new arrivals have been welcomed in Scotland than anywhere else in the UK, with 862 being housed by councils – one third of the total arrivals and far more than the north-east of England, which aided the second highest number at just 302.
Another 276 went to the West Midlands, with 97 rehomed in London, 96 in the east of England and none at all in the north-west of England.
The north-west, however, had the highest number of asylum seekers receiving support under a different system, with more than 9,000 in the second quarter of this year.
Other figures showed that asylum applications in the UK increased by 41 per cent to 36,465 in the year to the end of June – the highest number for more than a decade. Applications from lone children and teenagers also leaped 54 per cent to 3,472.
More than 83 refugees accepted under the Syrian resettlement scheme are now living in Edinburgh, while 81 are in Renfrewshire.
The initial group touched down at Glasgow Airport in November last year, when Mohamad Andoura was given accommodation in Paisley with his wife and four children.
He said: “I always wanted to travel to the UK and now it is my home. Scotland is a great country and the people are amazing.
“I want to thank the people for receiving us, it was great the way we were received. I want to thank Renfrewshire Council – thanks to them my kids are going to school and studying.
“The main difference here is the weather. But I like Scottish people – they are always smiling and we have not experienced any racism.
“We feel at home here but we miss our family back home in Syria. They are not secure there, but there is nothing we can do for them.
“There is just one thing missing – I am looking for work and hope to find a job. In Syria I was an accountant and had experience of running a coffee shop. Having a job is very important to Middle Eastern men.”
Andoura’s son Ebrahim, 17, is among five young Syrian volunteers to earn Saltire Awards for volunteering in the local area, aiding community clean-ups and garden maintenance.
The boys – including Ebrahim’s brother Moatasem, Issa Al Ahmad and siblings Ahmad and Ayman Ahmad – are all pupils of Paisley Grammar School.
Ebrahim said: “I am learning English although in school I do not understand everything, but my teachers are trying to come up with different ways to teach us and they do their best.
“My favourite subjects are maths and woodwork. When I leave school I want to go to university to study mechanical engineering.”
Earlier this month, a Commons committee report warned of a “two-tier system” developing over participation in the initiative, which is voluntary for town halls, with 273 UK council areas not offering their help.
David Simmonds of England’s Local Government Association said: “We are confident there will be sufficient places that will support the government’s pledge to resettle 20,000 people by 2020 and the focus must now be on ensuring families are matched to the right placements and that they arrive safely and are well supported.”
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