Refugee Council co-ordinates a partnership of refugee organisations to provide information, advice and support to refugees who are part of the UK's resettlement programme.
Known as the Gateway protection programme, it was set up by the UK government and is an extension of existing schemes that are operated by UNHCR worldwide which resettle around 100,000 refugees every year.
Refugee Council's role in the resettlement programme
The Resettlement Inter-Agency Partnership consists of seven NGOs and includes the Refugee Council, the British Red Cross, Migrant Helpline, Refugee Action, Refugee Arrivals Project (RAP), Refugee Housing Association and the Scottish Refugee Council. The programme is fully funded by the Home Office
This partnership provides specialist support to the refugees coming to the UK to meet their needs and aid their integration into the community.
The Refugee Council provides support services for resettled refugees in the Yorkshire and Humberside region and in the East of England, Norwich in partnership with the Red Cross in Norwich.
Groups of resettled refugees are supported for 12 months by a team of staff which includes project workers, community development workers and volunteer co-ordinators.
Support includes providing:
- orientation on arrival
- housing
- help finding employment
- volunteering opportunities
- English classes
- help accessing other mainstream services.
- community development
More information on the resettlement programme
The UK government has established a resettlement scheme for vulnerable refugees who are in need of long-term protection.
The Gateway Protection Programme, which started in March 2004, is an extension of existing schemes which operate around the world under the auspices of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which together resettle around 100,000 refugees every year, allowing people to rebuild their lives safely and securely.
The majority of the world's refugees who are fleeing persecution, violence and conflict are unable to travel far beyond the borders of their home country.They often live in refugee camps for years; many children have lived their entire lives in such camps. One of the ways in which the UNHCR seeks to assist such refugees is to offer resettlement to another country.
Candidates for resettlement to the UK will have been classified by UNHCR field offices as refugees and selected on the basis that they have pressing humanitarian or security needs, are not able to return to their countries of origin and cannot integrate locally. The Home Office then makes the decision on who to accept under the UK programme, which will be run on a quota basis, initially set at 500 people a year.
The first group of refugees who came to be resettled were from West and Central Africa. Many had fled the war in Liberia and has been living in West African refugee camps. More recently, we have resettled Burmese refugees who had been living in Thai refugee camps.
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