Britain on Monday appointed a minister to deal specifically with the 20,000 Syrian refugees that the country has agreed to resettle over the next five years from camps bordering the war-torn country.
\n\u201cRichard Harrington will be responsible for co-ordinating and delivering work across government to resettle up to 20,000 Syrian refugees in the UK, along with co-ordinating the provision of government support to Syrian refugees in the region,\u201d said a statement from Prime Minister David Cameron\u2019s office.
\nHarrington will be an under secretary \u2014 the lowest rank of the three tiers of Britain\u2019s government.
\nThe prime minister was on Monday visiting a refugee camp in Lebanon \u201cto see for myself and to hear for myself stories of refugees and what they need.
\n\u201cBritain is already the second largest donor to refugee camps to this whole crisis, really helping in a way that many other countries aren\u2019t with serious amounts of money,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cWe will go on doing that including increasing the amount of money we are giving to educate Syrian children here in Lebanon and elsewhere. I think that\u2019s absolutely vital.\u201d
\nThe prime minister arrived in Beirut on Monday for a one-day visit, a Lebanese government source said.
\nCameron was to visit a refugee camp in the Bekaa valley in eastern Lebanon, the source said. The country hosts more than 1.1 million Syrian refugees.
\nHe was also due to hold talks on the refugee crisis with his Lebanese counterpart Tammam Salam.
\nCameron announced earlier this month that Britain would take in 20,000 more Syrian refugees, amid growing pressure at home and abroad to address the crisis.
\nThe country has taken in around 5,000 since the Syrian conflict began in 2011.
\nCameron recently announced plans to provide an extra \u00a3100 million in aid, bringing Britain\u2019s total contribution to \u00a31 billion (1.36 billion euros, $1.55 billion), according to government figures.
\nAround \u00a340 million of this will be allocated to the UN and NGOs working in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey to provide shelter, food, relief packages, health and protection services, as well as cash assistance, Downing Street said Monday.
\n\u201cFor thousands of refugees this money means a meal for their families, the security of a home with basic sanitation and clean water,\u201d said Cameron.
\n\u201cOur goal remains to support the development of a secure, stable and peaceful Syria. Without our investment in international development, the numbers of people seeking to embark on a perilous journey to Europe would be far greater.\u201d
\nNearly 12 million people have been displaced by the conflict, according to official estimates.<\/p>\n