Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions she has had with the Home Secretary on the next phases of the resettlement of Syrian refugees in Northern Ireland, including the numbers of refugees to be resettled in 2016; and if she will make a statement.

I have participated in general discussions with colleagues, including the Home Secretary, on the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the UK. The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State sits on the Government’s Syrian Refugee Relocation Ministerial Group.

The Home Office are working with local authorities and the Devolved Administrations, including the Northern Ireland Executive, to put in place the necessary arrangements for the resettlement of Syrian refugees. My Department is in regular contact with the Home Office about these matters.