SCOTLAND has taken the greatest number of Syrian refugees under the UK Government’s resettlement scheme, 862, representing a third of the total number, new figures show.
The Home Office figures reveal more than a tenth of the 20,000 Syrians Theresa May’s government has pledged to resettle has been brought to Britain so far since the resettlement scheme began last October.
Last autumn, her predecessor in No 10, David Cameron, announced plans to step up the resettlement initiative after a public outcry over the fate of those driven to attempt to make the perilous crossing of the Mediterranean.
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The Government has pledged to give refuge to 20,000 Syrians from the region around the war-torn country by 2020.
The Whitehall figures show that between the start of October last year and the end of June, some 2,646 people had arrived under the Syrian vulnerable persons’ resettlement scheme.
In the final three months of last year 1,085 were brought to the UK. The number then dipped to 517 in the first quarter of this year before more than doubling to 1,044 in the three months from April.
Refugee Council head of advocacy Lisa Doyle said: "There is absolutely no reason why a country as welcoming and wealthy as Britain would be unable to fulfil its pledge to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees by 2020. After all, it's only the equivalent of each constituency welcoming one family a year."
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Those arriving under the programme have been resettled across 118 local authorities - up from 71 in the six months to March. Coventry has taken the highest number, with 125, followed by Gateshead with 107 and Edinburgh with 83.
The data also shows there were 273 council areas where no Syrians had been resettled under the scheme in the nine months from October.
Earlier this month, a Commons committee report warned of a "two-tier system" over participation in the initiative, which is voluntary for town halls.
After Scotland, the north east of England had the next highest number, with 302, followed by the West Midlands, where 276 people were located.
Meantime, 97 have been resettled in London, 96 in the East of England and none in the North West, according to the figures.
The North West, however, had the highest number of asylum seekers receiving support under a different system, with more than 9,000 in the second quarter of this year.
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Other figures showed that asylum applications in the UK from main applicants increased by 41 per cent to 36,465 in the year to the end of June; the highest number for more than a decade.
And there were 3,472 asylum applications from unaccompanied children and teenagers; a 54 per cent rise compared to the previous year.
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