ON July 17 your editorial relating to the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme said as fact that up to £150,000 would "have to be found from elsewhere" for future funding.

This figure is speculation and backed by no evidence.

In fact, according to the Refugee Council other local authorities have successfully accepted Syrian refugees under this scheme having received assurances from the Home Office that they would not have to shoulder the burden of funding.

The following facts should clarify some misconceptions in the letters which appear on the same page.

Any person resettled under this scheme is legally a refugee and not an economic migrant. They have fled for their lives.

They are selected by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) from refugee camps. They have not passed "through numerous safe European countries". Funding comes from the EU. Not from local or central government.

Refugees arrive as a nuclear family. They do not have the right to invite other relatives to join them.

The scheme is designed to discourage dependency and to encourage empowerment.

This is Malvern's opportunity to help a small number of desperate people and to be an inspiring example of welcome and inclusiveness.

Ruth Forecast

Malvern Welcomes Syrian Refugees Steering Group

Editor's note: The £150,000 sum quoted is Worcestershire County Council's estimated cost of the scheme.