SCOTLAND is ready to offer a home to at least 2000 refugees council leaders have said.

Negotiations have been taking place between councils and with the Scottish Government to determine how much capacity each council has to take in people from the refugee camps around Syria.

Yesterday the Evening Times reported how Glasgow has said it will be able to welcome more than 60 refugees identified by the United Nations in Lebanon and Iraq.

Now across the country plans to accommodate families are in place with some expected to be able to arrive as early as this month and many more before Christmas.

Glasgow has been taking part in the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme and has already given a home to dozens in the last two years.

Now other councils will follow suit as Scotland is ready to take at least 10% of the 20,000 Prime Minister David Cameron said the UK would accept from camps.

Cosla president David O’Neill said: “The Syrian refugee crisis has seen not only an outpouring of public concern for the plight of the millions of people who have had to flee their homes but also an unprecedented response from Scottish local government.

“A number of councils had already been in discussions with the Home Office about their involvement in the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme.

The last three weeks has seen all Scotland's councils willing to support a coordinated response to what can only be described as a humanitarian crisis. For many councils that has seen them committing to taking refugees immediately.”

However he warned that the Home Office must ensure funds are available to ensure support services can be provided and any pressure on existing services for local populations eased.