NO refugees resettled in Tendring or Colchester last year through a scheme for those fleeing the Syrian conflict.

The coronavirus pandemic has also brought a halt to the possibility of arrivals for now with the Home Office just short of its goal of resettling 20,000 refugees nationally.

But Home Office figures have revealed no refugees resettled under the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme in 2019/20 in Tendring or Colchester.

Colchester saw no resettled refugees the previous year either.

Across the country, the number of resettled refugees dropped from 5,020 to 4,450 over the two years.

Altogether, 19,768 have been granted humanitarian protection after being affected by the Syrian conflict since the scheme was launched in 2014.

Louise Calvey, head of resettlement at Refugee Action, said: “The successful refugee resettlement programme helped hundreds of families and thousands of people rebuild their lives in the UK.

“However, a lack of clarity on what happens after March 31 next year is threatening the future of refugee resettlement because local authorities providing services to people are unable to plan for arrivals and arrange necessary support for vulnerable families.

“The Government must give more certainty and urgently make a long-term commitment to resettle 10,000 refugees every year.”

Since its launch, ten people have been resettled in Tendring under the scheme and 58 in Colchester including two children.

A Home Office report on the effects of the pandemic on immigration said asylum applications have “fallen sharply” since the start of Covid-19 restrictions.