Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Syrian refugees have been relocated in the UK under the Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme; and what estimate she has made of the number of such refugees who will be relocated under that scheme by 31 December 2015.

Between the first arrivals in March 2014 and 30 March 2015 (the most recent published data), 187 people were relocated to the UK under the Vulnerable Persons Relocation (VPR) scheme. The scheme is based on need, rather than designed to meet set arrival projections. However, we will continue to bring groups here on a regular basis. We have said we expect the scheme to help several hundred people over three years, and we remain on track to achieve that. In addition, over 4,200 Syrians have been granted asylum or other forms of leave in the UK under our normal asylum rules since the Syrian crisis began in 2011.

We continue to work closely with the UNHCR to identify the most vulnerable people displaced by the conflict, prioritising women and children at risk, people in severe need of medical care and survivors of torture and violence. The VPR scheme runs in parallel with the UNHCR’s own Syrian humanitarian admission programme. This is because the Government believes the UK can add most value through a complementary scheme, focusing on helping the most vulnerable refugees who cannot be supported effectively in the region rather than a quota. With millions of people in need, we strongly believe that the UK can have the greatest impact by continuing to prioritise significant aid; we have donated £800 million, making the UK the second largest bi-lateral donor after the USA and helping to provide vital support to hundreds of thousands of people across the region. The Syrian conflict is a crisis of international proportions and we continue to play our full part in discussions with international partners.

The UNHCR is best placed to provide information on the number of Syrians resettled by other states to date. The UNHCR website also provides a list of international resettlement pledges.