Last Friday evening (February 5) I was very happy to welcome my good friend and managing director of the John Lewis Partnership, Andy Street, to Redditch.
Andy, who is also Chair of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), was the guest of honour and speaker at an event at the Masonic Hall which was attended by local business people, councillors, two MEPs as well as members of my Business Leaders group.
MPs get the chance to ask questions to the various Secretaries of State in the House of Commons, and on Monday (February 8) it was the turn of the Department for Communities and Local Government, and I was invited to ask a question on the subject of funding for the resettlement of Syrian refugees.
I believe we should do what we can for those caught up in the Syrian crisis, and trust that our community will welcome victims fleeing war, famine and persecution, but I know some have registered concerns about how this will be paid for.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Refugees, Richard Harrington, assured me that resettlement costs for year one are funded by the Department for International Development (DfID) through the official development assistance budget, and confirmed further money available through the Spending Review would go a long way towards funding the resettlement of refugees.
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