Cumbria set to take in more than 130 Afghan refugees, county council confirms
More than 130 refugees from Afghanistan are set to be settled in Cumbria.
The county council has confirmed that the total number who will initially be resettled in the area will be 137, who have had to flee the country following the withdrawl of American and allied forces and the country's subsequent takeover by the Taliban.
Each of the county's six districts will take in 16, except for Carlisle, which will house 57.
From 2017 under the Vulnerable Children’s and Vulnerable Person Resettlement Scheme the authority has resettled 244 refugees from a range of countries including Syria, Iraq and Somalia.
It has We have to date resettled four families who were Afghan Ministry of Defence translators. They were resettled under the Afghanistan Relocation Assistance Policy (ARAP).
A spokesperson said that the authority was "awaiting detail from Government about the new resettlement programme they are developing to support refugees" but also pointed out that the Government provides funding to support the resettlement of refugees under these schemes.
The leaders of Dumfries and Galloway Council and Scottish Borders Council have also pledged to being refugees from Afghanistan to their areas.