NO refugees have yet been placed in Dorset under the government’s new UK Resettlement Scheme, figures have revealed.

The first people to arrive under the new UK Resettlement scheme arrived in the country in February and March 2021 due to Covid delays.

However, the new scheme does not have a target and so far this year, just 25 refugees have been accepted in the whole of the UK with none placed in Dorset.

The Refugee Council has raised concerns that this lack of target could dissuade local councils from continuing to settle refugees in the area and reflected on the success of the former Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme.

A spokesperson from the charity said: “We’re pushing the government to commit to an annual target because we’re quite concerned that numbers might still remain low even when all the Covid restrictions are lifted because there is no central ambitious target that local authorities can galvanise behind.

“It enabled local authorities like Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch to say actually this means we might need to bring in 100 people.”

The Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) was launched by the government in January 2014 and pledged to resettle 20,000 refugees in the UK, over a five-year period.

During this time, Dorset Council pledged to resettle approximately 100 Syrian refugees as part of the scheme which is intended to help those in the greatest need.

This scheme closed as the government reached its target of resettling 20,000 people over the course of five years.

Shihab Kanbar, 38, was resettled in Yetminster with his family as part of the original VPRS scheme, after they fled the Syrian conflict.

He said: “Before I came here I worked in Dubai as a pastry chef for around eight years, so I had a good job and I earned good money as well, but when the war started I lost my job to save my wife and small boy.”

“I had to move them to a safe place because the war started in my city so we moved to Lebanon, which is very close to Syria.

“I stayed in Lebanon for four years and worked there, it was a very hard life there because I had nothing. I had lost everything, my house and my things.”

Since the family was relocated to Dorset in 2017, Mr Kanbar says the programme has helped them from the day they arrived with housing, food and education.

The family have worked hard to improve their life: “I did a volunteer job at a coffee shop in my village to improve my English and make friends.

“I studied at a college for English language two days a week and I practice a lot on my own to learn English online.

“I worked very hard to find a job and I am happy I found one because it’s not easy to find a job without experience here in this country.”

Shihab now works in a care home: “I am very happy to show people about my experiences and to show the people that there is a safe life here and all the people are kind and friendly.”

When asked about the council’s future plans to settle refugees in the area, a BCP Council spokesperson said: “All councils have been asked to help support the UK Resettlement Scheme by offering accommodation and support for refugees through this programme. BCP Council has made a formal commitment to support this and will continue to work with private sector housing providers to acquire homes for this group and ensure specialist help is available in partnership with local support providers.”