This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/davehillblog/2016/nov/16/haringey-to-welcome-syrian-refugees-as-london-struggles-to-take-its-share
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Haringey to welcome Syrian refugees as London struggles to take its share | Haringey to welcome Syrian refugees as London struggles to take its share |
| (1 day later) | |
| Considering London’s long and famous history of giving sanctuary to refugees, it seems strange that so few fleeing Syria have been settled in the capital so far. In April, Citizens UK reported that only 43 of the 1,337 accepted by Britain since 2014 had relocated to any of London 32 boroughs at that point. In May, Home Office figures showed that only 33 of the 1,602 Syrians housed in the UK since October 2015 under the government’s Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (SVPRS) were in London, the lowest number of any UK region or nation. Of the 32 London boroughs, only Camden, Barnet, Kingston and Islington had begun accepting people at that stage, though others had agreed to in principle. | Considering London’s long and famous history of giving sanctuary to refugees, it seems strange that so few fleeing Syria have been settled in the capital so far. In April, Citizens UK reported that only 43 of the 1,337 accepted by Britain since 2014 had relocated to any of London 32 boroughs at that point. In May, Home Office figures showed that only 33 of the 1,602 Syrians housed in the UK since October 2015 under the government’s Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (SVPRS) were in London, the lowest number of any UK region or nation. Of the 32 London boroughs, only Camden, Barnet, Kingston and Islington had begun accepting people at that stage, though others had agreed to in principle. |
| On Tuesday, Haringey joined those taking in Syrians when its cabinet voted to accommodate up to ten families under the SVPRS. Council leader Claire Kober pledged to “work round the clock to give refugee families a safe home and the support they need to rebuild their lives”. Quizzed on Twitter by a local refugees support group about when the Syrian families will arrive, Kober replied that the council was “moving fast to finalise deal with Home Office” but added that “we’re in their hands on broader timescale”. | On Tuesday, Haringey joined those taking in Syrians when its cabinet voted to accommodate up to ten families under the SVPRS. Council leader Claire Kober pledged to “work round the clock to give refugee families a safe home and the support they need to rebuild their lives”. Quizzed on Twitter by a local refugees support group about when the Syrian families will arrive, Kober replied that the council was “moving fast to finalise deal with Home Office” but added that “we’re in their hands on broader timescale”. |
| Kober’s comment hints at the processes involved with helping refugees, not only those from Syria. The Haringey officers’ report recommending the cabinet decision illuminates some of the wider issues, including types affecting other London boroughs too. It says that in 2014-15 across London around 2,500 households with no recourse to public funds (because their immigration status was being assessed) were supported by boroughs and voluntary groups to the tune of an estimated £50m and that the number of such households has risen by about 40% in the last two years. | Kober’s comment hints at the processes involved with helping refugees, not only those from Syria. The Haringey officers’ report recommending the cabinet decision illuminates some of the wider issues, including types affecting other London boroughs too. It says that in 2014-15 across London around 2,500 households with no recourse to public funds (because their immigration status was being assessed) were supported by boroughs and voluntary groups to the tune of an estimated £50m and that the number of such households has risen by about 40% in the last two years. |
| The report explains that councils participating in the SVPRS can claim government funding of £20,500 per individual over a five year period, beginning at £8,500 and ending in year five at £1,000. This amount can be topped up to meet the educational needs of school age children and some extra social and medical care needs. | The report explains that councils participating in the SVPRS can claim government funding of £20,500 per individual over a five year period, beginning at £8,500 and ending in year five at £1,000. This amount can be topped up to meet the educational needs of school age children and some extra social and medical care needs. |
| But, unsurprisingly for London, housing costs are described as “the biggest challenge” Haringey faces to participating in the SVPRS. Syrian families must be found places in the private rented sector (PRS), where rents are very high. “Central government has assumed that housing costs will be fully covered through housing benefit,” the report says: “However, the supply of PRS properties available at local housing allowance rates is very low in London.” It means boroughs must cover the “rent gap” between what housing benefit provides and what is charged. | But, unsurprisingly for London, housing costs are described as “the biggest challenge” Haringey faces to participating in the SVPRS. Syrian families must be found places in the private rented sector (PRS), where rents are very high. “Central government has assumed that housing costs will be fully covered through housing benefit,” the report says: “However, the supply of PRS properties available at local housing allowance rates is very low in London.” It means boroughs must cover the “rent gap” between what housing benefit provides and what is charged. |
| The whole thing, to put it briefly, is a bit of a struggle. Last month, eight boroughs - Camden, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Hounslow, Islington, Lambeth, Lewisham and Redbridge - wrote to home secretary Amber Rudd asking for more help with supporting refugee children from Calais, pointing out that they have had to cope with huge budget cuts in recent years. Hammersmith and Fulham are among those who’ve taken in unaccompanied Calais camp children. Camden’s leader Sarah Hayward says that her borough is presently supporting 51 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children of whom she believes 17 arrived from Calais. Lambeth currently looks after 33 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, a number which they say might increase. They are also response for 33 over-18s who arrived when they were younger. | |
| Haringey supports 46 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in all at the moment, including three from Calais. In her role as chair of London Councils, the body representing the capital’s local authorities, Kober too has pressed Rudd for help across the capital with looking after over 100 children allowed in under Lord Dubs’s amendment to the Immigration Act (2016). Elsewhere, Hackney has committed to increasing its number of SVPRS families to seven by Christmas, with maybe more after that. Lambeth has taken in four so far. Others are being urged to follow suit. | |
| This article was updated on 18 November to add more information about what Camden and Lambeth are doing. I will continue to update if and when I hear from other boroughs. |