AN ADDITIONAL 96 refugees could be rehomed in Cumbria.

The county has already helped resettle 244 refugees since December 2016, out of the 285 originally placed under the Syrian Resettlement Programme.

At a meeting of Cumbria County Council's cabinet today, the authority will be asked to agree to once again act as the lead authority for the provision of resettlement support in Cumbria for refugees under the Global Resettlement Scheme (GRS).

It would run in 20/21 and beyond, subject to funding being confirmed for 2021/22 onwards.

The report which will be considered by cabinet states: “As a result of its lead authority status, the county council has strong relationships with the Home Office and the North West Regional Strategic Migration Partnership in identifying refugee families in need of resettlement in the county.

“Since 2017, the county council has put in place programme management infrastructure and enabling mechanisms for the effective delivery of the programme.

"This includes the establishment of a Syrian Resettlement Programme team across all six districts

.”

The report continues: “The county council has secured agreement with the Home Office to roll over the pledge into 2020/21 to allow for the appropriate and timely resettlement of refugees.

“Following this, the county council will also engage with district councils to resettle 96 individuals being accepted under the Global Resettlement Scheme.

“Overall, existing plans total 137 individuals being resettled in the county as a result.”

Consideration will be given to where the most suitable locations will be for those being resettled, based on the refugees' needs, availability of key services and understanding of communities.

There are three options for cabinet to consider.

Option A: To agree that the council will act as the lead authority for the provision of resettlement support in Cumbria for refugees under the GRS. It would receive a five-year tariff of £20,520 for each refugee with an additional education tariff (for year one) for children aged 3-18 years.

Option B: To agree that the council will not act as lead authority for the provision of resettlement support, under the GRS. “This option would mean another organisation in Cumbria would need to take on this particular role to manage the funding from the Home Office and provide strategic co-ordination of the multi-agency approach to the resettlement of refugees,” states the report.

Option C: To not agree that the council participates. “This option would make it difficult for the GRS to operate within Cumbria, without the county council’s cooperation and engagement,” states the report.