The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) identifies refugees for resettlement using its established criteria. The seven resettlement submission categories are Legal and or Physical Protection Needs; Survivors of Torture and/or Violence; Medical Needs; Women and Girls at Risk; Family Reunification; Children and Adolescents at Risk and Lack of Foreseeable Alternative Durable Solutions.

Many of the refugees referred for resettlement will meet more than one of the submission categories. We do not publish details of the reasons refugees are referred, however those providing support to the refugees on arrival in the UK receive information prior to their arrival in the UK to ensure that support can be tailored to their needs.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) identifies refugees for resettlement using its established criteria. The resettlement submissions categories used by the UNHCR are Legal and or Physical Protection Needs; Survivors of Torture and/or Violence; Medical Needs; Women and Girls at Risk; Family Reunification; Children and Adolescents at Risk and Lack of Foreseeable Alternative Durable Solutions.

Individuals are not required to disclose their sexuality or gender identity during the resettlement process, however, those whose protection need arises for those reasons are likely to be referred under the submission category of ‘Legal and/or Physical Protection Needs’.

We do not publish details of the reasons refugees are referred, however those providing support to the refugees on arrival in the UK receive information prior to their arrival in the UK, so that support can be tailored to their needs.

The timescale for resettlement from the point of acceptance on to the scheme to the point of arrival can be impacted by numerous factors including the family’s readiness to leave the region; the availability of suitable accommodation and support in the UK and fitness to travel.

Once a family is accepted by a local authority or community sponsor, arrangements are made for their arrival in the UK as soon as practicable.

The recent report by the Independent Chief Inspector for Borders and Immigration highlighted an average time of 35 weeks. As the report acknowledges, the VPRS generally takes significantly less time to resettle people than other states’ schemes.

Funding provision for the VPRS was based on evidence from local authorities who have significant experience of resettling refugees as well as authorities advanced in their thinking on taking placements. They provided estimates for the costs of the scheme in years 2-5.

The information provided showed the level of support required by vulnerable refugees decreases over time as they settle into life in the UK, their health improves and they become integrated into society and move into work. We continue to monitor integration outcomes through our ongoing evaluation work.

The Home Office does not centrally collect the information required to calculate the percentage of working age refugees resettled via the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme who are in paid employment for any point in time. As part of the evaluation of the VPRS, we are capturing data which will include employment rates in the first year after arrival, and we are working with DWP and HMRC to arrange access to their datasets so that we can continue to collect data over a longer term.

We recognise the difficulties resettled people can face when looking for work. We have funded a pilot project to provide additional employment support and are now evaluating what it has delivered. We continue to work closely with colleagues in DWP to ensure that all those whom we resettle are aware of, and receive, the support they are entitled to, and we will be sharing the learning from the pilot with DWP.

The average clearance time, in weeks, from lodgement to disposal of an asylum appeal in the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) was:

[1] The last 12 months for which data are available, in line with published statistics.

Information regarding the average duration of the asylum procedure is not recorded and held in a reportable format. However the information relating to the percentage of initial asylum decisions made within the published service standard can be found on table Asy_10 of the Asylum Transparency data published on 30^th November 2017 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-transparency-data-november-2017).

An extract of the table can be found below;

Information relating to the average time taken to make an initial decision is not recorded in a reportable format. However, information relating to the amount of initial decisions made in (1) the last 12 months, and (2) last three years for (a) Syrian nationals, (b) Afghan nationals, and (c) Iraqi nationals can be found in the Asylum data tables immigration statistics July to September 2017 volume 2 on table as_06; https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-july-to-september-2017-data-tables

An extract is contained in the table below;

*It should be noted that the Total initial decisions made may not correlate to the year in which the claim was made.

In all of the countries from which we resettle refugees fleeing the Syrian conflict, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has undertaken significant efforts to ensure that LGBTI individuals are able to register. These include establishing mobile registration units, outreach teams and help desks for areas where different minority groups are concentrated. This is all part of an effort to facilitate registration for those refugees who, for whatever reason, cannot or choose not to access the main registration offices.

In addition to training its staff on LGBTI issues, UNHCR also works closely with partner non-governmental organisations (NGOs) supporting the LGBTI community in the region to facilitate registration, ensure access to services and explore available durable solutions, which may include consideration for resettlement. The NGOs have autonomy to refer such cases to UNHCR where particular protection concerns exist.

Details of the marital status and family composition of those arriving under the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) are not published

A total of 9,394 people have been resettled under the VPRS since the scheme began. Around half of those resettled under the VPRS were under 18 years old, and around half were female.

We do not ask individuals referred to the UK for resettlement by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to disclose their sexual orientation, therefore this is not recorded unless it is a factor in their need for protection.

Individuals who require protection because of their sexual orientation are likely to be referred to us under UNCHR’s vulnerability category of ‘Legal and/or Physical Protection Needs’. We have no plans to change this approach.

We are clear that our scheme will prioritise the most vulnerable refugees, and that is why under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement (VPR) scheme the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) identifies refugees for resettlement using its established vulnerability criteria. The seven vulnerability criteria used by the UNHCR are Legal and or Physical Protection Needs; Survivors of Torture and/or Violence; Medical Needs; Women and Girls at Risk; Family Reunification; Children and Adolescents at Risk and Lack of Foreseeable Alternative Durable Solutions.

Persons who are at risk due to their sexual orientation or gender identity are usually referred for resettlement using the category “Legal and Physical Protection Needs”, however they can also be referred under one of the other categories if more applicable. We are working with the UNHCR and other partners to intensify their outreach to groups that might otherwise be reluctant to register for fear of stigma or discrimination and who may be unaware of the options available to them.

The number of people who have been resettled under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme is published in the quarterly Home Office statistics. The sexuality and gender identity of those vulnerable people being resettled under this scheme is not routinely recorded or reported.

We are clear that our scheme will prioritise the most vulnerable refugees, and that is why under the VPR scheme the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) identifies refugees for resettlement using its established vulnerability criteria.

We are working with UNHCR and other partners to intensify their outreach to groups that might otherwise be reluctant to register for fear of stigma/discrimination and unaware of the safe space and options available to them. This includes all religious minorities, LGBT people, people with disabilities, survivors of torture and sexual violence and others.

Refugees being resettled in the UK under the Syrian Vulnerable Person’s Resettlement scheme are invited to attend cultural orientation before they arrive in the UK.

This includes information on the diverse and inclusive nature of UK society and on the rights and responsibilities of citizens and those resident here. Once in the UK they are provided with a 12 month support package tailored to their individual needs. This includes accommodation, caseworker support and integration assistance, medical and social care needs and English language tuition. We ask local authorities to think carefully about whether they have the infrastructure and support networks needed to ensure the appropriate care and integration of these refugees before they begin resettling people.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) identifies people most in need of resettlement under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme based on the following criteria: women and girls at risk; survivors of violence and/or torture; refugees with legal and/or physical protection needs; refugees with medical needs or disabilities; children and adolescents at risk; persons at risk due to their sexual orientation or gender identity; and refugees with family links in resettlement countries.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR’s) vulnerability criteria for identifying refugees under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme include persons at risk due to their sexual orientation or gender identity, and LGBTI refugees are identified through their normal screening procedures.

Local authorities are provided with full case details of all referrals so they can make an assessment of the needs of refugees, before deciding whether to accept them for resettlement. Whilst the Government provides funding to ensure these needs can be met, it is up to individual local authorities to decide how this should be achieved.