COUNCILS in the region are among the first in the country to offer refugees sanctuary in their authority areas.

Darlington Council led the way, with its leader Bill Dixon announcing this morning (Friday, September 4) that it would welcome ten refugee families into the borough.

This followed Labour leadership candidate Yvette Cooper’s suggestion that if every UK city, council and region took ten families, then Britain could find homes for 10,000 refugees within a month.

By the early afternoon Prime Minister David Cameron announced that Britain would take ‘moral responsibility’ and accept thousands more refugees into the country, with the UN refugee agency saying that 4,000 would be offered places from its camps in the Middle East.

Cllr Dixon said he was moved to act after seeing the shocking images of desperation, including the body of a three-year-old Syrian, washed ashore in Turkey.
He said: “We can’t do nothing; we are the sixth richest nation in the world.
“You have got to think, what would you do in those circumstances?

“In Darlington in the 1990s we put together a rescue package to help Bosnian refugees and we made sure that they were supported by people in the town and I think we could do that again.”

Cllr Dixon said that he would liaise with neighbouring authorities through the Local Government Association and with church groups and support groups in the town to ensure that Darlington is ready to play its part in alleviating the refugee crisis.

Darlington MP Jenny Chapman said she had already been contacted by local families offering to house refugees.

However, she did acknowledge that there was a feeling among some residents that there are Darlington families in need and they should get priority for housing and help.

“I think supporting ten families is well within the means of the town," she said.

“Yes there are many, many families within Darlington that are struggling and we work hard with projects such as food banks and the credit union to give support.

“Much more needs to be done, but at the same time there are people in complete crisis who are being chased from their homes.

“If ISIS is something that is encroaching on their homes then they are not just going to wait and see what happens, they know what happens, and I think that we should do what we can to help.”

Elsewhere, York Minster authorities want to play their part, with The Dean of York, the Very Rev Vivienne Faull offering to organise a meeting to discuss a broader response.

The leader of North Yorkshire County Council, Carl Les, said that his county was “ready to play its part” in helping what he described as an escalating situation.

Cllr Simon Henig, leader of Durham County Council, said it was “entirely appropriate” to support the huge response underway and that his council would work with others to do what it could.
A spokesman for Middlesbrough Council sounded a note of caution, saying that although the Teesside area has always been active in supporting refugees, and would continue to do so, a partnership approach is vital.
He said: “Middlesbrough is already home to a relatively high number of refugees per head of population, and this has an inevitable impact on the provision of local services.

“We would therefore hope that through a more joined-up approach from Government, and working in partnership with all local authorities in the area, we will be able to access the resources required to enable us to continue to play our part in addressing this humanitarian crisis.”

Meanwhile, civic leaders in Hartlepool are writing to Mr Cameron on the matter as Hartlepool Council leader Christopher Akers-Belcher said the region could not just sit back and watch events unfold.

“We have a responsibility to play our part and provide refuge and sanctuary in Hartlepool for some of these families and we will be making this offer to Mr Cameron," he said.
“We need to show a high degree of humanity and provide a safe haven for families during a time of unprecedented need.”