Shropshire Council asked to resettle refugees
Shropshire Council will be asked to accept a "moral responsibility" to aid and resettle refugees in the county.
The authority's chief executive Clive Wright should write to the county's MPs and Prime Minister David Cameron reminding them of Britain's obligations to help more refugees fleeing Syria, according to Councillor Andy Boddington.
A cross-party team of councillors should also be set up to working with the authority's housing officers and independent housing associations to find homes for people seeking asylum, he said. The ideas will be put to a meeting of the full council at Shirehall in Shrewsbury on Thursday in a motion raised by Councillor Boddington, who represents Ludlow North.
Last week council leader Keith Barrow said the authority would "do its best" to help refugees. The council's cabinet also agreed to set up a cross-party working group to look at the issue.
It comes after neighbouring Telford & Wrekin Council said it expected to take about 10 Syrian refugees a year for the next five years to help meet Government targets.
The council has since got involved in a row over how much funding will be provided to support refugees and an attempt to gain support from Telford MP Lucy Allan was met with short shrift.
Refugees fleeing Syria have met resistance in east European countries such as Croatia and Hungary as they attempt to travel to the west.
The UK Government has said it expects to welcome 20,000 refugees over the next five years, but has come under fire from critics for not agreeing to take more.
Councillor Boddington's motion says: "This council believes we all have a moral responsibility to aid and resettle refugees. It is the duty of the Government and all councils to react to this crisis by helping shelter families classified as refugees."
It also asks the council to instruct the chief executive to write to the county's MPs and the Prime Minister on the matter.
