To endorse the approach to a long term flexible commitment to the ambition of resettling at least 125 refugees in Herefordshire over a period of five years.

The head of community commissioning and resources and the senior commissioning officer for the project attended for this item.

The cabinet member health and adult wellbeing introduced the report. It was explained that the UNHCR allocated refugee cases to the UK which were then allocated to each region. The approach taken by the council would be the same as in previous years, in that the council would identify suitable housing and put that forward to the local migration partnership with information about the needs that could be supported for example availability of school places. The partnership would then send through profiles of refugees and the council would have the option to decline where it did not believe it could meet the specific needs of an individual.

Councillor Davies left the meeting at 15:59 during consideration of this item.

Cabinet members noted that:

·        Refugees brought richness and diversity to the county and there was a desire to support as many refugees as possible, taking account of the councils capacity;

·        Refugees were generally settled in Hereford as there was a better supply of suitable accommodation and access to services, other locations such as Leominster had been considered and could be used if sufficient accommodation became available;

·        Feedback from some previous refugee families had been received and taken into account in forming the future approach;

·        Refugees could move to another area if they wished, however if they wanted to continue to receive support Herefordshire council would need to discuss this with the receiving council;

·        Recent experience was that refugees settled well and no substantial issues had been experienced.

Group leaders were supportive of the proposal and noted the contribution of refugees to the county. They commended staff for how well refugees had settled previously and the people of Herefordshire for being welcoming to these individuals. It was suggested that the equalities impact assessment should include reference to schools, education providers and language support providers as key stakeholders.

It was resolved that:

(a)   a long term flexible commitment to the ambition of resettling at least 125 refugees over five years is approved; and

(b)   authority to determine numbers of refugees resettled in any one year and any associated logistics is delegated to the director for adults and communities, in consultation with the cabinet member for health and wellbeing.

To endorse the approach to a long term flexible commitment to the ambition of resettling at least 125 refugees in Herefordshire over a period of five years.