Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government why they are not planning to restart the refugee resettlement schemes until early 2021.

We have been working closely with key domestic and international stakeholders on plans to safely resume UK resettlement arrivals against the backdrop of unprecedented restrictions and pressures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a result of this work, and as announced by Baroness Williams of Trafford in the House of Lords on 9 November the UK will shortly restart UK resettlement arrivals to fulfil our commitment of resettling 20,000 refugees affected by the conflict in Syria under the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) and we are working closely with partners to deliver this.

Due to the lead times for refugee arrivals it is likely that we will see most refugees start to arrive early in the new year.