HC Deb 16 February 1993 vol 219 cc139-40W
Mr. Allen

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria are being applied in selecting areas for resettlement of Bosnian refugees once they leave reception centres.

Mr. Charles Wardle

The areas selected will be those where support can be made available from refugee and other voluntary organisations, and where there is suitable accommodation.

Mr. Allen

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much he expects to spend in the next six, 12 and 18 months on resettlement programmes associated with Bosnian refugees; and how much local authorities will be expected to pay.

Mr. Charles Wardle

Firm forecasts are not yet possible and depend on how quickly the international organisations are able to arrange the arrival of further groups from Bosnian detention camps and the tracing of their dependants. The proposed settlement of the Bosnians in various parts of the country seeks to avoid imposing undue burdens on individual local authorities.

Mr. Leighton

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the destinations and the arrangements for catering for the Bosnian and other former Yugoslav refugees admitted to the United Kingdom.

Mr. Charles Wardle

The areas provisionally identified for the resettlement of both former detainees and their dependants accepted by the Government at the request of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees are listed in the table. The Government are providing funds to the Refugee Council and the British Red Cross to find suitable housing and to provide support to the Bosnian families in conjunction with refugee and other voluntary organisations in the areas concerned.

Provisional resettlement areas

  • The West Midlands
  • The East Midlands/East Anglia
  • The North
  • The North-East
  • Central Scotland
  • London