As CUMBRIA will start to see an influx of refugees due to the Taliban crisis in Afghanistan it will not be the first time.

Over recent years Carlisle has welcomed 93 of the Syrian refugees who came to the UK.

The UK is expected to take in 20,000 refugees from Afghanistan with up to 5000 in the first year.

Enver Solomon, chief executive at the Refugee Council, said: “Councils need to be able to make plans with the assurance that all the resources they require are provided by central government.

“The Syrian scheme was a success because of long-term careful planning and collaboration with local areas and agencies and it will be critical for the same to happen given the challenges councils are facing as a result of the pandemic and overall financial pressures.”

People from Syria were resettled here in Carlisle through the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme by the end of March this year.

This is 0.4% of all those who have been nationally rehomed.

According to the latest population estimates, that means Syrian refugees make up just nine in every 10,000 Carlisle residents.

The refugees will be offered the chance to set up life in the UK permanently.

Priority given to women and girls, and religious and other minorities most at risk of human rights abuses.

The Home Office said the programme is modelled on the VPRS, which resettled around 20,000 Syrian refugees in local authority areas across the UK between 2014 and 2021.

Those escaping conflict in Syria were granted refugee status with full rights to live and work, provided with housing and support, and help to integrate into their communities.

The HoC Library figures show 44,800 people were receiving Section 95 support across the UK at the end of March. Of them, one was in Carlisle.

The Home Office received almost 150,000 applications for support between 2013 and 2020, with around 5% from Afghan nationals.

Tim Naor Hilton, chief executive of Refugee Action urged the government to grant 10,000 people refuge.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said: "We will not abandon people who have been forced to flee their homes and are now living in terror of what might come next."