Posts Tagged “UK”

University scholarships for people who have claimed asylum in the UK

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University scholarships for people who have claimed asylum in the UK

More than 60 universities now offer Equal Access university scholarships, bursaries or fee waivers to people who have claimed asylum in the UK. Student Action for Refugees (STAR) maintain a list of participating institutions. A new scheme developed in partnership with Reading Refugee Support Group and Reading University Students’ Union will provide up to 14…

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UK Resettlement Scheme now open to non-Syrians

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UK Resettlement Scheme now open to non-Syrians

The UK’s Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Programme will now be open to resettle vulnerable refugees of any nationality, not just Syrian, who fled the conflict to neighbouring countries and are unable to safely return to their home country. The overall target of 20,000 refugees to be resettled by 2020 remains unchanged. UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd…

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UNHCR’s priorities for the next UK Government #GE2017

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UNHCR’s priorities for the next UK Government #GE2017

Ahead of the 8 June UK general election, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has outlined six priorities that it is asking whoever forms the next UK government to take forward for asylum and refugee reform. Increase the number of refugees resettled in the UK to at least 10,000 a year. This represents a meaningful but…

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Reaction to closure of Lord Dubs unaccompanied child refugee scheme

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Reaction to closure of Lord Dubs unaccompanied child refugee scheme

200 child refugees have been brought to the UK under the ‘Dubs Scheme’. However, this week the UK government have announced that the scheme that was set up to help some of the estimated 90,000 unaccompanied migrant children across Europe will close once a further 150 children have been settled in the UK. Originally, the…

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Just two families resettled under UK community refugee sponsorship scheme

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Just two families resettled under UK community refugee sponsorship scheme

Six months after its launch at Lambeth Palace, the British Government’s community refugee sponsorship scheme has welcomed just two Syrian families to the UK. The Guardian newspaper reports comments by the The Open Society Foundation saying that the delay “risked squandering the resources of hundreds of volunteers happy to help save the government time and…

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“harnessing the skills of refugee chefs, journalists and nurses”

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“harnessing the skills of refugee chefs, journalists and nurses”

Monday’s Guardian newspaper carries a report explaining that in post-Brexit referendum Britain, “while some see incomers as a threat and a drain, others recognise that many refugees come with skills, ambitions and ideas that should not be wasted”. Four examples of integration and employment are cited. One of the stories highlighted is a food project…

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UK on target to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees by 2020

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UK on target to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees by 2020

The National Audit Office has today reported on the UK Home Office’s Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Programme. Back in September 2015, the then-Prime Minister David Cameron made a commitment to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees by 2020. 1,000 Syrian refugees were welcomed into the UK by Christmas 2015. 2,659 (13% of the target) were resettled by…

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Campaigners renew call on Government to transfer 400 children from Calais ‘Jungle’ to UK

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Campaigners renew call on Government to transfer 400 children from Calais ‘Jungle’ to UK

It was back in April 2016 when the UK Government bowed to pressure and and agreed to work with the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) to resettle children and adults from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. At that time Save the Children estimated that there were 26,000 lone children across…

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Housing refugees in family homes – Positive Action in Housing petition

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Housing refugees in family homes – Positive Action in Housing petition

We call on the British government to harness the goodwill of those individuals and families who are willing to take refugees into their homes and quickly resettle Syrian refugees so that they may begin the process of rebuilding their lives. That’s the rallying cry of the Change.org petition launched by Positive Action in Housing, the…

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Local Authority inaction harming UK resettlement of Syrian refugees

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Local Authority inaction harming UK resettlement of Syrian refugees

A comprehensive report on the Migration Crisis from the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee has cast doubt that the UK Government will meet its commitment to resettle 20,000 refugees from the region around Syria by 2020. The report publishes for the first time the number of Syrian refugees resettled in each local authority area….

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