COUNTY Durham is on track to home its “fair share” of Syrian refugees before 2020.

Durham County Council has agreed to resettle 200 people as part of the Syrian vulnerable persons resettlement scheme.

So far 28 people, from six families, have moved into the county following the authority’s agreement to take part last December.

The scheme was set up last summer to achieve a Government target of resettling 20,000 Syrians in the UK by 2020.

Gordon Elliott, from Durham County Council, said: “We have one per cent of the population living in the county so that equates to 200 people over the time.

“We have informed the government that we are aiming to take 200 Syrians over the next four years.”

Mr Elliott said the council was hoping to rehouse a similar number of people before the end of the year, which would mean the authority is on track to settle 200 people by 2020.

The House of Commons’ Home Affairs Select Committee released a report about the programme this week raising concerns that the Government was going to miss the target because local authorities had not contributed to providing accommodation for refugees.

The most recent figures released by the Government, from March, revealed that just 1,602 Syrians had been resettled under the scheme, with none in County Durham.

But since then six families have arrived in the county, with five arriving in May and a sixth coming when another house became available.

The Durham Humanitarian Support Partnership was set up to look at the needs of families seeking refuge in the county, including housing, food, health, education, translation services and community support.

It is led by Durham County Council and is working with churches and the voluntary sector to look at what help people moving into the area might need and how it should be provided.

Mr Elliott added: “Our commitment from early on was to make this a positive experience for families. This is the first time we have engaged with a programme like this is years.

“Our authority hasn’t had a great deal of experience with this in the past. We haven’t tended to be an area where people have come to so it means we have to take a considered approach.

“We wanted to do it well and with the feeling that we have offered a good experience for Syrian families that have moved into the county.”

He added: “We are pleased with the programme and pleased with the support from groups and the public in Durham.”