Council set to award over £1m to British Red Cross to support refugee resettlement in Peterborough

Peterborough City Council is set to award over £1m to the British Red Cross Society to deliver refugee resettlement services in the city from September until March 2026.

The amount of £1,035,942 has been put to Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities Cllr Steve Allen for a decision not before July 27.

The money would be spent on delivering government refugee programmes offering resettlement advice, support and integration services to families.

Since 2017, Peterborough has supported the government’s policy of helping to resettle legal refugees under the United Kingdom Resettlement Scheme; initially launched to resettle 20,000 Syrians nationally.

This has since been extended to notably include Afghans following the withdrawal of international military forces from Afghanistan and Ukrainians in the wake of Russia invasion last year.

Peterborough City Council has agreed to resettle refugees under both schemes and has previously commissioned charity Peterborough Asylum and Refugee Community Association (PARCA) to undertake a number of key functions to help integrate new arrivals quickly.

These include: opening a bank account, accessing health and social care services, accessing .education and adult skills training, learn English and find employment and access support to become work ready.

Depending on which programme a refugee has been resettled under, the council provides support for either three or five years, working closely with our commissioned partner. Full funding for the work is provided by Government to the council via an annual grant.

The council has stated that The British Red Cross Society were identified as having submitted the most economically advantageous tender.

Also in its efforts to support refugees, the council has confirmed that it will purchase 25 homes in the city to house refugees.

The money will partially be provided by the Local Authority Housing Fund.