THE Vale of Glamorgan is home to 73 of the Syrian refugees housed across the UK, figures show, as the Government prepares to resettle another 20,000 people, this time from Afghanistan.

Figures from the House of Commons Library show 73 people had resettled in the Vale of Glamorgan through the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme by the end of March, 0.3 per cent of all those nationally.

Yesterday Alun Cairns MP met with local British-Afghans outside his constituency office in Barry to discuss the evacuation of relatives from Kabul.

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Enver Solomon, chief executive at the Refugee Council, said: "Councils need to be able to make plans with the assurance that all the resources they require are provided by central government.

"The Syrian scheme was a success because of long-term careful planning and collaboration with local areas and agencies and it will be critical for the same to happen given the challenges councils are facing as a result of the pandemic and overall financial pressures."

According to the latest population estimates Syrian refugees make up five in every 10,000 the Vale of Glamorgan residents.

The Vale of Glamorgan will support Afghan refugees and are planning to work with the UK Government to provide arrangements and look forward to welcoming Afghan refugees into the communities.

The government recently announced that the Afghan Citizens' Resettlement Scheme will welcome 20,000 people trying to escape persecution from the Taliban, with up to 5,000 in its first year.

They will be offered the chance to set up life in the UK permanently, with priority given to women and girls, and religious and other minorities most at risk of human rights abuses.

The Home Office said the programme is modelled on the VPRS, which resettled around 20,000 Syrian refugees in local authority areas across the UK between 2014 and 2021.

Those escaping conflict in Syria were granted refugee status with full rights to live and work, provided with housing and support, and help to integrate into their communities.

He urged the government to allow those with relatives already in the UK to safely join them, and suspend the return of anyone refused asylum back to Afghanistan.

People with ongoing claims for asylum receive financial assistance and accommodation through what is known as Section 95 support, as do those whose application was unsuccessful, but who had children in their household.

The HoC Library figures show 44,800 people were receiving Section 95 support across the UK at the end of March.

Of them, two were in the Vale of Glamorgan.