Local authorities will receive money from the UK’s foreign aid budget to help house refugees from Syria and North Africa.
Over the weekend, chancellor George Osborne told the BBC that the foreign aid budget could ‘help councils with things like housing costs’ as pressure grows to help the thousands of refugees flooding into Eastern Europe.
‘We will deploy the foreign aid budget to help with the costs of these refugees,’ he added.
Council leaders across the country have pledged to help more refugees, including Leeds City Council, Bristol City Council and Liverpool City Council.
Prime minister David Cameron is expected to make a statement later today in the House of Commons outlining how the Government plans to respond to the international crisis.
Last week town hall chiefs warned that Whitehall must fully cover the cost of helping extra refugees.
Photo: Procyk Radek/Shutterstock.com
