Issue - meetings
Maidstone's approach to the Syrian refugee crisis
Meeting: 08/12/2015 - Communities, Housing and Environment Committee (Item 89)
Additional documents:
- Appendix A Distribution of UASC across Kent, item 89 PDF 37 KB View as HTML (89/2) 10 KB
- Appendix B Home Office fact sheet, item 89 PDF 149 KB
Decision:
That this report be referred to the Policy and Resources Committee for consideration due to the potential acquisition cost which could not be accommodated within the Communities, Housing and Environment Committee’s budget.
Minutes:
Members considered the
report of the Head of Housing and Community Services which sought
Committee’s approval for the Council to assist Syrian
Refugees, as outlined by the Prime Minister in October 2015.
Members noted that the Scheme (Syrian Vulnerable Person
Resettlement Scheme) (VPR) had been expanded by the Government as
it intends to resettle 20,000 Syrians.
The scheme would prioritise those most vulnerable.
Members also noted that there would be a very stringent vetting process before the refugees were released to the Council by the Home Office and Government offices.
In response to
questions from Members, the following was noted:-
·
The Head of Finance and Resources advised that it was within
this
Committee’s remit to purchase from capital funds but as the
increase in homelessness has impacted on its capital funds already,
this could have an additional burden on the Committee’s
budgetary resources.
·
The Head of Housing and Community Services advised that the
reasoning behind recommending that this Council take 6 single males
is due to the fact that it would be easier to place these
individuals in shared accommodation.
The advantages being that it would make it easier to deliver good
community support as it would be targeted to one place and the
accommodation could be utilised for the homeless in the
future.
· The funding received from the Home Office would be provided for five years. Should the funding exceed the allocated spend then the Council would not expect to deliver any further services.
It was moved by
Councillor Mrs Blackmore and seconded by Councillor Newton that the
report be referred to the Policy and Resources Committee providing
it had no impact on any other deadlines which had to be met
regarding the allocation of the individuals coming to this
country.
Voting:
For: 6 Against: 3
Abstentions:
0
The amendment was carried.
RESOLVED: That the
report be referred to the Policy and Resources Committee providing
it had no impact on any other deadlines which had to be met
regarding the allocation of the individuals coming to this
country.
Voting:
For: 6 Against: 3
Abstentions:
0