Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the Government's Syrian refugee resettlement policy in relation to the number of people seeking refuge; and if she will make a statement.

The Government is deeply concerned about the crisis in Syria, the suffering and
hardship it is causing for millions of displaced Syrians in the region, and the
strain it is placing on their host countries. That is why we launched the
Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation (VPR) scheme, offering protection in the
UK to some of the most vulnerable refugees, who cannot be supported effectively
in the region. The scheme is based on need rather than fulfilling a quota, but
we have said that we expect it to help several hundred people over three years,
and we remain on track to deliver that commitment. We therefore have no
current plans to change the way the scheme operates. However, we continue to
monitor the situation in Syria and the surrounding region and work closely with
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to identify the most
vulnerable people displaced by the conflict to ensure that the scheme remains
responsive to need.

However given the scale of the crisis, we believe the most effective way to
ensure the UK’s help has the greatest impact for displaced people and their
host countries is through substantial humanitarian aid and actively seeking an
end to the conflict so that refugees can return to their homes and livelihoods
safely. We have committed £800 million in response to the crisis, making us
the second largest bilateral donor in the world, and UK funding is helping to
support hundreds of thousands of displaced people in the region, providing
food, healthcare and essential supplies. Compared with aid, resettlement can
only ever help a minority of those in need.