Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government by what date they expect to fulfil their undertaking to accept 500 refugees from Syria.

The Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation (VPR) scheme is based on need rather than fulfilling a set quota; it is designed to help the most vulnerable displaced Syrians who cannot be supported effectively in the region, and prioritises women and children at risk, survivors of torture and violence and those in need of medical care.

However, we have said that we expect the scheme to help several hundred people over three years, and we remain on track to deliver that commitment. 50 people were relocated to the UK under the scheme between the first group of arrivals on 25 March and the end of June. (This is the latest publicly available figure, as numbers are released as part of the publication of Home Office official statistics each quarter; the number of arrivals under the scheme up to September 2014 will be published on 27 November.) Groups are arriving in the UK on a regular basis, and we continue to work closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to identify Syrian refugees who are most at risk and schedule their relocation to the UK. Given the vulnerability of beneficiaries of the scheme, it is essential that the specific support they need is available when they arrive, and we also continue to work with local authorities and partners in the UK to ensure this is in place.