A REVISED scheme to support the settlement of refugees in Denbighshire will be decided on next week.

The Syrian Vulnerable Persons’ Resettlement Scheme (SVPRS) is now coming to an end and is being replaced, by the Home Office, with a Global Resettlement Scheme from April 2020.

Denbighshire County Council's Cabinet will meet on Tuesday, January 21 and will be asked to agree to support more vulnerable families under a adapted scheme.

Based on Denbighshire accepting five families per year for the next five years, the funding received from the Home Office for the period 2020/21 to 2029/30 would be in the region of £3m.

Since the project commenced in April 2016, 18 families have been resettled in Denbighshire. The county are on track to achieve the target figure of 20 families by the end of March 2020.

Fifty-five individuals have been resettled and are supported by a number of agencies.

Six Welsh babies have also been born since the project began.

Families have been accommodated across the County with the majority living in Rhyl.

A report by cllr Bobby Feeley, Lead Member for Well-being and Independence, titled Syrian Vulnerable Person Resettlement Scheme, states: "All families have been supported to take full responsibility for paying their rent. Denbighshire County Council, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Working Denbighshire attending the weekly drop in to resolve any queries and answer questions."

On what can be improved, the report adds: "The intention was that the families would take on full responsibility of the tenancy themselves after 12 months but only one family has a tenancy direct with landlord – Denbighshire continues to support the other tenancies by way of a lease and then subletting to the individual families.

"On-going issues with housing conditions and claims of damp and condensation. Instances have been found to result from cultural lifestyle choices (no ventilation, on-going use of heating) rather than property conditions.

"Not all families are actively accessing English as a second or foreign language (ESOL). Families struggle to access dental and health services due to access to interpreters."

With the £3million funding, about 58 per cent will be used to settle families based on individual need and 42 per cent would be available for DCC and third party organisation support.

The report recommends that Cabinet agrees to continue to support the settlement of refugees in Denbighshire through the Global Resettlement Scheme, dependent upon the terms and financing of such a scheme once published by the Home Office.