Walsall to welcome 20 refugees from Syria after plan agreed by council

But the approval process for the 20 individuals – who will be in families – will be out of the hands of the borough council, with central Government carrying out documentation checks.

The decision on the number of refugees accepted was made on the condition of funding, with £12,000 being made available per person over a period of five years by the government.

There is a separate condition that the refugees be split into groups no bigger than 10, with their arrival to be separated by a period of four weeks.

Councillor Diane Coughlan, portfolio holder for social care, said: "I am assured there will be checks and balances done before the refugees arrive."

She added: "The Government has asked local authorities to support the relocation of Syrian refugees but we also have a moral obligation to do so. We have been asked to provide an estimate of how many families could be assisted locally at the present time.

"At the moment participation in the relocation scheme has been voluntary. However, in order to meet the quota agreed by the government, there is growing speculation that the Government may legislate to make it mandatory for local authorities to participate.

"This report recognises that Walsall could take up to 20 individuals to be in families.

"It is about us being proactive and working with our partners and being ready to help instead of being reactive when the government impose on us."

The UK government is resettling up to 20,000 Syrian refugees in Britain by 2020.

Refugees are fleeing terror attacks and conflict in Syria and it is estimated that more than 11 million people have been driven from their homes. Under the scheme refugees are taken from camps in countries neighbouring Syria.

Approximately 1,000 individuals have already been resettled under phase one including some in Birmingham and Coventry.

And earlier this year it announced it will invest an extra £1.2 billion of international aid in Syria and the region to help fund education, create jobs and humanitarian protection.

However, after becoming Prime Minister, Theresa May decided to scrap the post of Syrian refugees minister. The decision was met with cross-party criticism.

She stressed that Richard Harrington was appointed to the previous position to make sure the Syrian persons vulnerable relocation scheme 'got off to a good start' and that ministers from the department already have responsibility for asylum.

Walsall is already an area in which dispersal of asylum seekers takes place via G4S but it has significantly lower numbers of asylum seekers than neighbouring areas.