Nobody can fail to have seen the chaos caused by the sudden, and seemingly, poorly planned exit from Afghanistan by the US army. With the Taliban making rapid advances many Afghans are living in fear, often for their own and their families lives.
Whatever your view on the righteousness of our involvement in Afghanistan everyone seems to agree that those Afghans who worked closely with our troops, diplomats, and aid workers should be protected from reprisals by the Taliban. In many circumstances this may well involve permanently relocating whole families to the UK.
At the end of July four flights had arrived bringing 137 families to the UK. At that point the plan was to relocate 3,000 people (or approximately 600 families) before September. If these 600 families were distributed evenly across the UK then North Somerset could expect 2 families to arrive. The final number of families relocating will undoubtedly be higher.
North Somerset Council is keen to play its part in protecting those that for many years protected and assisted British citizens as they undertook dangerous work. We have already been in touch with central government to offer our help. At a meeting this afternoon I reiterated my total support for this initiative and said that we must be prepared, if necessary, to accommodate more than 'our share' of 2 families.
The council, working with central government, continues to plan for arrivals. Work has already been undertaken to find accommodation. Although larger homes suitable for a family can be particularly hard to find a number of suitable properties have already been identified.
In addition the Council will also need to ensure that suitable support services are rapidly put in place to aid integration into our communities, this is particularly the case where families arrive with children.
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