Bristol takes in just five Syrian families

Bristol has taken in only five families under a government scheme to resettle 20,000 refugees across the country.

The council blamed a lack of accommodation as it was also revealed that North Somerset and South Gloucestershire have taken in none between them.

Former Prime Minister David Cameron agreed last September to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees by 2020 to help deal with the migrant crisis.

Bristol City Council finally released the local data to Bristol24/7 almost a month after requested. The release coincided with a Home Office report which has found the UK is  “unlikely” to meet the country’s target.

The council said 22 people in total have been settled in the city under the Vulnerable Person’s Relocation scheme.

It compares to 273 resettled in Sheffield and 81 settled in Nottingham. However, Manchester still hasn’t managed to resettle any refugees along with a third of local authorities across the country, according to the Local Government Chronicle. Gloucestershire has taken in 560.

Bristol’s figures will come as an embarrassment to some, given its City of Sanctuary status – “a recognition of the value the city places on asylum seekers and refugees”.

Rachael Bee, manager of Bristol Hospitality Network, a charity which also houses refugees and asylum seekers, said: “Five families is not enough.”

But she added that a shortage in housing available to the council was slowing the process, and the private sector can ease the pressure by signing up to council schemes to let their homes to refugees.

“It’s not only about the council, it’s about the people of Bristol,” she said. “People with empty homes or spare rooms need to think about what they are doing with their properties.”

City mayor Marvin Rees said the council was working on increasing the supply of suitable housing to hit its long-term targets.

“We want to do more and we will but it is a four year programme and to be successful in the long term it is vital that we get the infrastructure right and manage the early arrivals well,” he said.

“After all, these are people who have been through terrible suffering and need complex support in order to effectively rebuild their lives.”

Clare Campion-Smith, cabinet member for people, added that Bristol had decided not to draw on existing social housing for the resettlement programme given the current housing crisis in the city.

She said: “While we have had generous offers of accommodation from within our private landlord networks and via the general public too, many of those properties have not been available and/or suitable for use within the time frame required.

“We are calling on landlords with available properties to contact Home Turf Lettings via emailhello@hometurflettings.co.uk or phone on 0117 301 2560 or 07500809331.”

Bee said Bristol had taken in many more than five families of refugees in total in the last year through various other processes, adding that there are about 200 asylum seekers currently in the city.

Read more: What you can do to help Bristol’s refugees