Resolution of the Hafnarfjörður Town Council

At a meeting of the Hafnarfjörður town council today, a resolution was passed.
A unanimous resolution on the ministry's responsibility for services to refugees. 

Responsibility for refugee services referred to the Ministry of Social Affairs

Since 2015, the Municipality of Hafnarfjörður has been one of three municipalities
of the country which has entered into an agreement with the government to receive individuals in search
to international protection. The town has fulfilled this important social task.
Dedication, ambition and great expertise are created. In addition, the municipality has
Receiving a large group of refugees through a co-ordinated reception. This is the situation now.
that nearly 200 children who have come to the country as refugees are in primary and
kindergartens of Hafnarfjörður and the municipality places great emphasis on looking after them
well for individuals. 

In recent months, the City of Hafnarfjörður has repeatedly come
to inform the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Labour Market that the town cannot take
to accommodate more refugees for the time being, as the local authority's infrastructure allows
all have reached their limits to some extent, especially regarding school services and support for
regards children.

Nevertheless, the number of refugees without a contract with the municipality has increased by
a few hundred in recent weeks. The people have arrived here and are settled in facilities that
The Immigration Service has set up in the municipality completely without consultation with
municipal authorities. In the municipality's submissions to the ministry, it has therefore been made clear
It is impossible for the Municipality of Hafnarfjörður to take in any more refugees.
and provided with the services which the law requires the local authority of residence to provide,
e.g. school services for children. Where negotiations and correspondence with the ministry
and the Immigration Service have not yielded results, the responsibility for granting
The service is hereby referred to the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Labour Market. 

Hafnarfjörður will by no means shirk its participation in the project and wishes to continue to carry it out well.
with the interests of refugees and asylum seekers as a guiding principle. The state must, however,
stand by their responsibility in the matter and come to the aid of the municipalities that have
take on these tasks. The municipality is legally obliged to safeguard the interests of all children who are now
that are already in the nursery and primary school systems. Due to a lack of consultation, infrastructure suffers
the municipality, however, not further increase the number of refugees without a contract and
Hafnarfjörður therefore requests that the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Labour Market take
Responsibility for ensuring that appropriate services for refugees are provided.