Purpose

As part of Richmond's commitment to become a
Borough of Sanctuary, a sanctuary strategy has been developed which
sets out a three year action plan for services throughout the
council to enhance the way they support sanctuary-seeking
residents. A decision is required to approve associated costs and
approve the action plan.

Content

RESOLVED:
 
The Committee resolved:
 
a) 
Approve the Richmond Sanctuary Strategy as attached at Appendix 1
of this report;
 
b)  
Approve the establishment of a £1.600m Borough of Sanctuary
spend budget funded from the Refugee and Homelessness Support
reserve pot to support the delivery of the strategy to be drawn
down against as the timeframes of the Strategy emerge;
 
c)  
Approve the drawdown of £44,000 in 2023/24, and sums in line
with paragraph 3.8 of this report fully funded by the Refugee and
Homelessness Support reserve;
 
d)  
Delegate authority to the Executive Director of Finance to allocate
the use of the reserve based on spend as appropriate; and
 
e)  
To commit to collaborating with people with lived-experience of
seeking sanctuary and the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) to
achieve Borough of Sanctuary status. This will be achieved through
the successful delivery of the actions set out by each council
department over a three-year period from April 2024 and the
creation of the Refugee Services team.