Hilary Benn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much the Government has (a) spent to date and (b) allocated for future spending to (i) his Department, (ii) the Department for International Development and (iii) the UNHCR to identify people for the vulnerable Syrian Refugee Resettlement Programme.

Mr Philip Hammond

In the Financial Year 2014/15, Government expenditure on the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme totalled £1.702m. These costs were partially offset by EU funding of £0.993m. Information on costs for FY 2015/16 is not yet available.

On 7 September, the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) announced an expanded scheme involving the Department for International Development, the Home Office and local authorities. The anticipated costs of this scheme are currently being analysed by these departments and we expect to agree indicative costings soon. Any further allocations to specific departments will be decided during the Government spending review.

The Government has offered funding and other support to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in order to identify individuals for resettlement. The Government’s Syria resettlement team, overseen by the Home Office, is currently finalising the details of this support package.

Overall, the UK has committed more than £1.1bn in aid towards alleviating the suffering of the Syrian people and bolstering Syria’s neighbours.