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<p>The Government is deeply concerned about the suffering and hardship caused by the
Syrian conflict, and we are determined that the UK will continue to play our full
part in responding to the humanitarian crisis.</p><p>The UK has donated £800 million
in response to the crisis, making us the second largest bilateral donor after the
USA, and helping to provide vital support to hundreds of thousands of displaced Syrians
right across the region. Through the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation (VPR) scheme,
we are also helping some of the most vulnerable Syrians who cannot be supported effectively
in the region by offering them care and support in the UK, prioritising women and
children at risk, people in severe need of medical care and survivors of torture and
violence. The scheme runs in parallel to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR)
Syrian humanitarian admission programme, as we believe we can contribute most by basing
our resettlement scheme on need rather than a fulfilling a quota. However, we have
said we expect the scheme to help several hundred people over three years, and we
remain firmly on track to achieve that. We are working closely with the UNHCR to identify
the most vulnerable displaced Syrians, and bring them to the UK. Between the first
arrivals in March 2014 and the end of March this year, 187 people arrived under the
scheme, and groups continue to arrive on a regular basis. This is in addition to Syrians
the UK has granted asylum under our normal rules; since the crisis began in 2011,
we have granted asylum or other forms of leave to over 4,200 Syrian nationals.</p><p>However,
with 3.9 million displaced Syrians in Syria’s neighbouring countries and millions
more in need within Syria itself, protection in the UK can only ever help a minority
of those who so desperately need help. The Government strongly believes that the UK
can have the greatest impact by continuing to focus our efforts on substantial humanitarian
aid to help provide support to the majority of displaced people who remain in the
region and ease the burden on their host countries. By the end of September last year,
UK aid had delivered over 8.7 million food rations (each of which feeds one person
for one month), provided access to clean water for 1.5 million people per month, and
over 1.3 million medical consultations in Syria and the region. The VPR scheme, which
is the first resettlement scheme operated by the UK to target beneficiaries specifically
on the basis of vulnerability, complements our aid by focusing on providing support
in the UK to some of the most vulnerable displaced people who cannot be supported
effectively in the region.</p><p>We therefore have no current plans to participate
in a quota resettlement scheme; we believe that our current approach is the best way
for the UK to help people who are suffering due to the crisis.</p>
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