The newspaper said by citing senior source from British government that the No. 10 of Downing Street had once discussing a figure as high as 20,000, but Prime Minister David Cameron's "current thinking" will see around 15,000 people in refugee camps on the Syrian border resettled in Britain.
"Until now it has been suggested Britain would take between 4,000 and 10,000 refugees. But one senior official said 10,000 was now the 'minimum not the maximum'," noted The Sunday Times.
And among the reported four-point plan on Britain's efforts in alleviating the humanitarian crisis, Britain is considering launching a military and intelligence offensive against the people traffickers, diverting foreign aid to the crisis as part of the government spending review, as well as persuading Members of Parliament to back airstrikes in Syria in a vote scheduled for early October.
- Later this week, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker will announce an EU quota system of settling the refugees. Britain is not joining the system, but a government's source to The Sunday Times noted that:" We will show that we are pulling our weight."
On the same day, British Chancellor of Exchequer George Osborne confirmed in a BBC's TV interview that Cameron would be making a statement at the Parliament's House of Commons on the refugee crisis on Monday, or on Sept. 7.
- He said the government would look at bringing refugees "directly from Syria," rather than those who had already travelled to the European Union (EU).
Osborne said: "We need to make an assessment of what our public services and infrastructure can support."
"We've increased this foreign aid budget -- can provide the support in the first year for these refugees, can help local councils with things like housing costs," he added.
On Sept. 4, Cameron announced that Britain is to provide resettlement to "thousands" more Syria refugees in response to the deteriorating humanitarian crisis.
Source:Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
6/9/15
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UK to use foreign aid money to pay for housing Syrian refugees....
ReplyDeleteBritain will use part of its foreign aid budget to help meet the costs of accommodating refugees arriving from Syria, its finance minister said Sunday, in a bid to head off public concerns over the impact on local services.
Prime Minister David Cameron said Friday that Britain would welcome "thousands more" Syrian refugees, after an outpouring of emotion over the image of a Syrian toddler lying dead on a Turkish beach put him under pressure to act.
Cameron had previously refused to commit Britain to taking in more refugees in response to a surge in numbers reaching Europe.
On Sunday, finance minister George Osborne said that Britain would use part of its foreign aid budget, equivalent to 0.7 percent of gross domestic product, to help local authorities meet the costs of helping new arrivals.
"The foreign aid we have ... can provide the support in the first year for these refugees, could help the local councils with things like housing costs," Osborne told the BBC.
Cameron did not say how many refugees would be welcomed, but a U.N. refugee agency spokeswoman said Britain would take in 4,000 Syrian refugees........Reuters..........dailystar.com.lb
6/9/15
Britain to take up to 20,000 refugees from camps near Syria...
ReplyDeleteBritain is to resettle up to 20,000 refugees from Syria over the next four-and-a-half years, Prime Minister David Cameron announced this afternoon.
Mr Cameron told the House of Commons that the UK would live up to its moral responsibility towards the people forced from their homes by the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad and the so-called Islamic State militant group.
He said Britain would take in vulnerable refugees only from camps in the region, and not those who have crossed the Mediterranean into Europe in their thousands over recent months..............http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0907/726157-refugees/
7/9/15