Syrian refugee intake stopped - three years ago

And the pandemic has brought a halt to the possibility of any arrivals for now, with the Home Office just short of its goal of resettling 20,000 refugees nationally.

With the scheme due to be wrapped up when the figure is hit, charities are calling on the Government to clarify its long-term plans - so more Syrians can be helped.

The last refugees were resettled in 2016-17, when 90 came to North Lanarkshire.

It has been stressed however that the process has not entirely drawn to a halt elsewhere in the country.

For a cross Scotland, 128 refugees were resettled in the first three months of this year.

Louise Calvey, head of resettlement at Refugee Action, said: “The hugely successful refugee resettlement programme helped hundreds of families and thousands of people rebuild their lives in the UK.

“However, a lack of clarity on what happens after March 31 next year is threatening the future of refugee resettlement, because local authorities providing services to people are unable to plan for arrivals and arrange necessary support for vulnerable families.

“The Government must give more certainty and urgently make a long-term commitment to resettle 10,000 refugees every year.”

Since its launch, 154 people have been resettled in North Lanarkshire under the scheme, among 3,569 across Scotland.

A Home Office report on the effects of the pandemic on immigration said asylum applications, and initial decisions made, have “fallen sharply” since the start of Covid-19 restrictions.

Seb Klier, parliamentary manager at the non-profit Refugee Council, said: “The pause on refugee resettlement flights to the UK, while completely understandable as part of the public health response to Covid-19, does mean that refugees are left waiting for longer to restart their lives.

“Once it is safe to do so, the Government needs to focus on fulfilling its commitments under the VPRS and its aim to resettle an additional 5,000 people in the next year under its new consolidated scheme.”

A Home Office spokeswoman said: “Under the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme, the government is now close to fulfilling its commitment to resettle 20,000 vulnerable refugees affected by the Syrian civil war.”

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