One in four Syrian refugees resettled in the UK placed in Scotland since 2015

Image credit: Antonio Pampliega/DPA/Press Association Images

One in four Syrian refugees resettled in the UK have been placed in Scotland, with 1,800 people coming to live north of the border since the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Programme began in 2015.

Under the resettlement programme 7,055 Syrians have arrived in the UK, meaning around a quarter are in Scotland.

The news follows calls from the Scottish and Welsh governments for the UK to increase the number of lone children resettled, with the two administrations using a joint letter to their UK counterpart expressing frustration about the way the resettlement programme has been introduced.

RELATED CONTENT

Scottish and Welsh governments unite to express frustration at UK approach to child refugees

When it comes to immigration Theresa May seems to have no idea what she is doing

The letter, signed by Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Communities, Social Security and Equalities, Angela Constance and Welsh Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children, Carl Sargeant, also backed calls to expand the criteria for resettlement so it does not exclude vulnerable children due to their age or nationality and a revised cut-off date.

SNP MSP Ben Macpherson said: “It's excellent that Scotland has welcomed over a quarter of those Syrian refugees who have arrived in the UK, under the resettlement programme, since 2015.

"But more needs to be done - in what is an off-the-scale humanitarian crisis that’s difficult to comprehend here at home.

“A recent all-party inquiry revealed that the UK public would not tolerate the UK Government turning away from this humanitarian crisis if they were more aware of what was happening. It also reported that UK ministers have done "as little as legally possible" to help unaccompanied lone children who have fled war and conflict, which has left them vulnerable to trafficking.

“It’s time for the UK Government to significantly step up its refugee resettlement efforts in the midst of what is possibly the worst humanitarian crisis since the Second World War.”