Scotland takes in 1,000th refugee from Syria

credit - Press assocation

Scotland has taken in 1,000 Syrian refugees since a summit last year aimed at easing the international humanitarian crisis.

The Scottish Government said the milestone was reached after 120 new refugees arrived in Scotland in the past week.

Westminster's Home Affairs select committee chairman, Keith Vaz, has already said that Scotland has “led the way” in efforts to resettle refugees fleeing the war in Syria, after a report showed that 38 per cent of Syrian refugees were resettled in Scotland.

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However, Scotland’s Equalities Secretary Angela Constance said the UK government should accept more refugees.

The SNP minister also pledged that Scotland would continue to take its share.

The summit in September of last year was attended by representatives of all Holyrood's political parties as well as dozens of interested organisations.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said at the time that Scotland should accept 1,000 refugees "as a starting point for a meaningful discussion".

She also launched a taskforce with a £1m budget to co-ordinate Scotland's practical response to the crisis, which has seen tens of thousands of people apply for asylum in the UK.

Constance marked the anniversary of the summit by meeting refugees and support workers at an educational project in Edinburgh today.

She said: "From day one we have been clear in our commitment to accepting a fair and proportionate share of the refugees coming to the UK and will play our part in welcoming them to Scotland.

"We will continue to urge the UK government to accept more refugees."

Meanwhile, Cosla president David O'Neill, who joined Constance at the event in Edinburgh, said Scotland's councils had a "long and proud history" of helping the country's most vulnerable people.

He added: "It makes me immensely proud that this track record is now being extended to include some of the most vulnerable people from across the globe - and the way our communities have rallied round to welcome their fellow citizens."

The UK government has pledged to take in 20,000 refugees by 2020.

A Home Office spokesman said: "The UK has been at the forefront of the international response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria.

"We have committed to resettling 20,000 Syrian refugees through our Vulnerable Persons Resettlement (VPR) scheme over the course of this parliament — and have already provided refuge to more than 2,800 people in need of protection.

"There has been a tremendous amount of goodwill from local authorities and the private, non-governmental and voluntary sectors as well as from individuals across the UK.

"We are very grateful for all the local authorities who have offered their support and will continue to work with them to identify further opportunities to resettle Syrian families."