NEWPORT City Council will be providing 50 homes for Syrian refugees as part of a UK-wide scheme.

Newport already participates in a national scheme to provide support for asylum seekers, but this announcement commits the city to taking 50 households, in line with the recently confirmed UK government initiative.

Due to the increasingly desperate situation in Syria, the government has agreed to increase the numbers of Syrian refugees able to seek asylum in the UK.

This will be separate to the normal Home Office Asylum scheme, with an additional 20,000 refugees being accepted UK-wide over the next five years.

Leader of Newport City Council, councillor Bob Bright said, “Newport City Council is sympathetic to the plight of refugees from Syria and other war-torn areas across the world.

“Therefore, as part of the Syrian Refugee Scheme, the council has agreed to accept 50 Syrian refugee households in addition to its normal allocation via the Home office scheme.

“Newport is proud to be playing its part in assisting with this tragic situation affecting many innocent people.”

Definite numbers will be agreed based on a range of factors including available school places, and these 50 households may be single people, couples or families.