Cambridge City Council has committed to resettling 200 refugees in the city in the first five years after the reopening of a government scheme.

The city must wait for the government to reopen the Home Office Refugee Resettlement Scheme as this is the “only mechanism by which refugees from abroad can lawfully be resettled” in the UK.

The decision, which was voted on in a meeting of the full council yesterday (22/10), followed a petition calling for the city council to accept 125 more refugees as part of the resettlement program.

The petition, at the time of publication, has received 657 signatures. It was created by the Cambridge Refugee Resettlement Campaign, a charity formed in 2015 to campaign for the resettlement of refugees in Cambridge and the surrounding area.

The decision by the city council was also supported by the activist efforts of Europe Must Act Cambridge, Cambridge City of Sanctuary and the Cambridge Convoy Refugee Action Group (CamCRAG).

The latest resettlement decision by the city council follows the city already “offering resettlement and support for 116 refugees” as part of a previous five-year Home Office Refugee Resettlement scheme. As part of this scheme, the council initially planned to resettle 50 people “but was able to more than double that number in three years, assisted by offers of private rented and housing association properties” in Cambridge.

Nicky Massey, Executive Councillor for Transport and Community Safety, commented on the council’s latest decision: “Once the government scheme opens again, we will aim to help resettle a further 200 refugees in five years from when the scheme restarts.”

He added that the council is committed to “playing our part and we call on other councils, housing associations and private landlords to join us in whatever they can do to make this ambitious target a reality.”

The petition submitted to the council highlights the urgency of their decision, noting the “inadequate sanitary conditions, minimal running water and cramped living conditions” in refugee camps on the Aegean islands in Greece.

The petition then goes on to discuss the ‘devastating’ fire in Moira camp on the island of Lesbos, which left 13,000 migrants and refugees without shelter during a pandemic. This includes 35 refugees who have tested positive for Covid-19 and cannot self-isolate due to the impact of the fire.

Massey acknowledged the inhumane conditions many refugees have faced, saying: “We are proud that Cambridge has been able to provide a safe haven for people who have fled from fighting and unimaginable difficulties in their home countries.”