The SNP has been at the forefront of efforts to pressure the UK Government to respond to the refugee crisis. The SNP made numerous calls on the UK Government to place its level of commitment to resettling unaccompanied children on a statutory footing, and fully supported the Lord Dubs amendment to the Immigration Bill.
As I am sure you are aware, the demolition of the camp at Calais has now been completed. During the demolition, my colleague Joanna Cherry MP pressed the Home Secretary to confirm what plans the UK and French Governments have made to ensure that unaccompanied children do not get lost in the chaos and are protected from falling prey to smugglers or going missing. Now all of the unaccompanied children who were resident in the camp have been taken to reception centres so that each of their individual cases can be responded to appropriately.
The SNP Scottish Government has always been clear that Scotland stands ready to take its fair and proportionate share of refugees coming to the UK, and have called on the UK Government to go further in their commitments in accepting refugees. Scotland has already welcomed around 1,000 Syrian refugees, and work is well underway to support these people to achieve the English language skills they need to integrate successfully in Scottish communities.
With almost 90,000 lone refugee children in Europe, the UK Government needs to do more to help these vulnerable individuals. The SNP will continue to pressure the UK Government not only meet its current commitments under both the Dublin regulations and the Lord Dubs scheme but to go further and do its fair share to address this humanitarian crisis.