Sheffield is now home to 44 Syrian refugees

Over 1,600 Syrians have arrived in Britain since October 2015


Over the past 6 months, 44 Syrian refugees have been welcomed by Sheffield, new figures reveal.

This is almost in line with the pledges made by Sheffield council to welcome “10 to 15” families, equating to around 50 people, following “enough is enough” protests held outside the Town Hall last year.

Since then, between October 2015 and March 2016, a total of 1,602 Syrians have arrived in Britain as part of a Vulnerable Person Resettlement scheme where the Government has pledged to resettle 20,000 refugees by 2020.

A total of 71 local authorities across the country, including Sheffield, have volunteered as part of this scheme to accommodate the influx thus far, with Coventry taking the highest number of 105 refugees.

A Home Office spokesman said: “The UK has been at the forefront of the international response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria.

“We have committed to resettling 20,000 Syrian refugees through our Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme over the course of this parliament – and have already provided refuge to more than 1,600 people in need of protection.

“There has been a tremendous amount of goodwill from local authorities and the private, non-governmental and voluntary sectors as well as from individuals across the UK.

“We are very grateful for all the local authorities who have offered their support and will continue to work with them to identify further opportunities to resettle Syrian families.”

Public reaction to this still remains fairly mixed, despite the relatively small numbers that have been admitted thus far, with some expressing fears of the beginnings of a longer term trend.

Nevertheless, the commitment of the council by way of the waves of public support for the acceptance of refugees is uplifting for the city of Sheffield and provides hope of a new beginning for these families whom have been forced to flee all that was dear to them.