Has your local authority taken in Syrian refugees?: Over 300 UK councils not 'pulling their weight'

Huge areas across the UK have failed to take in any Syrian refugees as MPs admit there is "scant evidence" that Britain will meet last year's promise by the Government to resettle 20,000 by 2020. Former prime minister David Cameron suggested the 20,000 target at the height of the refugee crisis as part of the Syrian Vulnerable Person Resettlement (VPR) Scheme last September.

However, figures released by the Home Affair Select Committee reveal that by March 2016, the number of Syrian refuges taken in by the UK is just 1,602.

For the first time, the government released a breakdown on 3 August of how many Syrian refugees were resettled in each local authority since the scheme was launched.

The figures reveal that Coventry in the West Midlands has taken the most with 105, followed by Nottingham in East Midlands with 81 and Renfrewshire in Scotland third with 68. As a whole, Scotland was found to have taken in 610 with Argyll and Bute, Edinburgh and Glasgow also appearing in the top 10 authorities who have taken in the most in the UK.

The committee said the figures also reveal that many local authorities are "not pulling their weight" in resettling Syrian refugees – with more than 300 failing to take in any. These include all authorities in the north west such as areas in Liverpool and Manchester, with only four London Boroughs – Barnet (6) Camden (14), Islington (10) and Kingston upon-Thames (11) – taking in any refugees.

The figures were revealed by the committee after they accused the EU as a whole of failing to react to the "colossal" refugee crisis, adding its commitment to address the issue has been "too little, too late". It is estimated that in the first six months of 2016, a total of 227,316 migrants had entered Europe by sea, arriving in locations such as Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Spain. Nearly 3,000 of these are thought to have died during the attempt.

In 2015, there were 38,370 first-time asylum applications in the UK, amounting to 3.1% of the EU total. In comparison, Germany was found to have housed 441,800 in 2015, more than 35% of the share from EU countries.

Committee chairman Keith Vaz MP said: "Europe's efforts to address this 'colossal' refugee crisis has been lamentable. The atrocious conditions in migrant camps within and on the borders of the richest countries on earth is a source of shame. It is horrifying that large numbers of the 85,000 unaccompanied children already in the EU have gone missing shortly after arrival, facing abuse and exploitation. They have become the EUs 'disappeared ones'.

"It is unacceptable that the 157 unaccompanied children in Calais with family in the UK have still not arrived here. Given this challenge, the abolition of the role of Minister for Syrian refugees is disappointing. Focus on this issue is vital if the target of 20,000 is ever to be met, which the current figures show to be unlikely."