Sheffield home to 77 more refugees from Syrian conflict last year

However, the pandemic has brought a halt to any arrivals for now, with the Home Office just short of its goal of resettling 20,000 refugees nationally.

With the scheme due to be wrapped up when the figure is reached, charities are calling on the Government to clarify its long-term plans.

Home Office statistics show that, in Sheffield, 77 refugees were resettled under the vulnerable persons and vulnerable children’s resettlement schemes in 2019-20.

This was an increase on the 70 who were relocated in the area the year before.

The opposite trend was seen across the UK, with a drop from 5,020 to 4,450 over the two years.

Altogether, 19,768 people have been granted humanitarian protection after being affected by the Syrian conflict under the scheme, since its launch in 2014.

With the coronavirus outbreak halting any refugees being resettled since March 12, the g overnment has been unable to reach its goal of 20,000 which it hoped to achieve in spring of this year.

Louise Calvey, head of resettlement at Refugee Action, said: "The hugely successful refugee resettlement programme helped hundreds of families and thousands of people rebuild their lives in the UK. However, a lack of clarity on what happens after March 31 next year is threatening the future of refugee resettlement, because local authorities providing services to people are unable to plan for arrivals and arrange necessary support for vulnerable families.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to The Star website and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.

Visit https://www.thestar.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.