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| (Pic : Al-Jazeera) |
Nevertheless, the UK and Wales are working behind the scenes to prepare to take refugees fleeing the conflict. As you might remember, the First Minister and other relevant ministers, agencies and bodies held a summit on the issue on September 17th (Refugee Crisis : Wales Responds).
On Tuesday, the Minister in charge of dealing with matters at a Welsh level – Communities & Tackling Poverty Minister, Lesley Griffiths (Lab, Wrexham) – updated the National Assembly on the summit, as well as taking topical questions from AMs.
The Minister started by saying that although dealing with the crisis falls within her ministerial remit, immigration was non-devolved (clip). She's been taken aback by some of the community responses and collections for refugees, and this sends out a signal that there's a clear willingness to work together to provide a safe haven.
The UK Government have committed to accept 20,000 refugees between now and 2020. Although no specific numbers have been given for Wales, the Minister refuses to "set an arbitrary number", and a special taskforce set up at the summit will figure out what capacity there is. In terms of those who've already arrived, Lesley said it was down to Whitehall to determine how to support them.
An operations board will consider how members of the public can support refugees and will ensure the public are provided with clear messages on how the relocation system will work. In addition, the Minister's spoken with the UK Under-Secretary of State for Syrian Refugees, Richard Harrington MP, to ensure clarity of communication between Welsh and UK Governments.
Another update will be given to the Assembly after the next taskforce meeting in November.
Mohammad Ashgar AM (Con, South Wales East) said there was an international obligation to help, but criticised the taskforce and operations board as "another tier of bureaucracy" (clip). He didn't seem to have paid much attention to the Minister's statement, asking numerous questions on the number of refugees that Wales can expect to receive, when they'll arrive and where they would be relocated to – particularly major settlements like the three M4 cities and Wrexham. He also asked what funding has been provided from Westminster?
The Minister was slightly bemused by the questions as the UK Government handle the vulnerable person relocation scheme. She said there's been a lack of information so far and Whitehall needs "to get their act together quickly". On numbers, the Welsh Government are working with local authorities to see what capacity they have, though all 22 local authorities have said they're happy to accept refugees - before the summit that number was 17.
Julie Morgan AM (Lab, Cardiff North) focused on unaccompanied young refugees, who she said were sometimes difficult to get placements and help for (clip). Julie praised the efforts of constituents who had collected donations for refugees/migrants in Calais, and although the UK won't be taking in any of these, she said it was important that the situation in France was dealt with too.
The Minister repeated that it was fantastic that ordinary people want to help, adding that amongst the refugees the UK will take in there would be a significant number of unaccompanied children – though no specific details have been provided from Whitehall yet on what format help would be.
Simon Thomas AM (Plaid, Mid & West Wales) was pleased to see the Welsh Government lead the response (clip). He asked for confirmation that the Minister would continue to lead the taskforce so that the Welsh Government's leadership would continue. He also asked whether refugees would be offered some sort of welcome pack outlining their rights and responsibilities? Perhaps his most important question was whether the Welsh Government would offer "bridging" finance to local authorities if there are delays in UK Government payments?
Simon also took the opportunity to condemn Theresa May's recent comments on immigration as "nasty and mendacious", praising the tone of the debates the Assembly has had in comparison.
The Minister told the Assembly that the tone and language of the debate were important, as was communication with local communities. She doesn't expect any delays in funding once Whitehall has decided where refugees will be based and the numbers, but bridging finance may need to be looked at as a fallback.
The Welsh Government have discussed needs with Syrian refugees themselves and what they were told is that additional English lessons and housing are the two main issues facing them. The WLGA has suggested that Wales can manage on the housing front with what we have now.
Jeff Cuthbert AM (Lab, Caerphilly) commended the public response and said it was important Wales does its bit (clip). He asked about partnerships between public services, third sector and faith groups, as well as asking for timescales on when Whitehall will give enough information in order to plan public service provision for refugees.
The Minister said she hoped to have more information on Thursday (today). It was particularly important to have information on funding, but at the moment they're just "preparing the ground". She confirmed faith groups have a place on the task force, and added that it may be appropriate to do a skills audit of refugees, saying she remembers Syrian refugees working as doctors at Wrexham Maelor Hospital in the 1980s and some of the refugees she spoke to recently were educated to Masters level.
Peter Black AM (Lib Dem, South Wales West) was proud Swansea is considered a "city of sanctuary" and of the response in Bridgend and Neath Port Talbot (clip). He asked questions on the state of preparedness of local health boards in terms of treating pre-existing illnesses and injuries, as well as any communication between UK and Welsh Governments on accommodation registers.
The Minster mentioned that during the summit the attendees said people can help more by donating money instead of provisions, adding that things like health, housing and education will be explored in more detail. The refugees' health status will be assessed before they leave camps, and they'll be treated based on clinical need like any other Welsh resident. She said it was good that people were willing to offer accommodation, but it's hard to place people until we know what their health and service needs are.
Keith Davies AM (Lab, Llanelli) added that there were aspects of devolved policy which can help, saying he was glad the Welsh Government established a taskforce (clip). He mentioned the Llanelli Star launching a gift/donation appeal and that 200 boxes had been collected from the local community, plus money. He asked how important it was to take an inclusive approach?
The Minister reiterated that she was disappointed with Theresa May's speech, and it was important that we think about the language we use (I presume that was an answer to the inclusiveness question). She added that people offering their spare rooms etc. was "amazing".
Mark Isherwood AM (Con, North Wales) said Wales has long been a sanctuary (clip), and it was encouraging that the UK Government was the second biggest donor to refugee camps - even if it's a drop in the ocean compared to all refugees fleeing conflict. He asked if Wales had received any of the 5,000 refugees who arrived in the UK in 2014, and specifics on numbers, citing the Welsh Refugee Council's proposal for 1,600 refugees and the First Minister's 500-600 ballpark figure. He also asked what action the Welsh Government were taking to ensure the public understand the difference between refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants?
The Minister again refused to set an arbitrary figure, and the Welsh Government were simply waiting for more information. Work on understanding immigration had been undertaken over several years and she said the difference between refugees, migrants etc. was now well known amongst the public. The Minister admitted that she doesn't currently know how many refugees are in Wales as they can work and move around.
Joyce Watson AM (Lab, Mid & West Wales) – who's chair of the cross-party group on human trafficking - made a particularly important contribution (clip). She said arrivals will not only need help now but continued help into the future, many may not be able to return. She was concerned about unaccompanied minors, many of whom could be victims of trafficking. She cited reports of young men in Italy being used as prostitutes and drug runners and warned this could happen in Wales if they're not protected. She asked whether the Welsh Government will consider using advocates for children as a result of the Modern Slavery Act 2015?
The Minister said refugees will be selected from camps bordering Syria. This work will be done by the UN Commissioner on Human Rights (UNHRC), and all refugees will be subject to security checks – so they'll travel in a different way and are unlikely to be trafficked. There's Home Office funding for a dedicated children's panel for unaccompanied minors in England, but no such funding in Wales.
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| (Pic : BBC Wales) |
The Minister also made it clear Wales/the UK is only counting those who are resident in camps surrounding Syria - specifically Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan - as refugees. The people we've seen making their way across eastern Europe won't be accepted, though some will inevitable end up at Calais.
By the sounds of it the UK is going to prioritise orphans and other vulnerable children, plus any refugee accepted to the UK will have a thorough background/security check too.
All that should go some way towards answering concerns about both people trafficking and economic migrants masquerading as refugees. However, some of the big issues are yet to be resolved and can't really until there's more information from the UK Government.
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