The first planeload of Syrian refugees to be resettled in Britain will land in Glasgow next week, as Scotland takes the lead in offering sanctuary to vulnerable families in the run up to Christmas, the Independent can reveal.

The planned arrival of a charter jet at Glasgow airport early next week will be the first significant group of Syrians fleeing the bloody conflict to come to Britain since David Cameron said he wanted to resettle 1,000 refugees by Christmas.

Most of the refugees will be resettled in Glasgow or the surrounding area, while a further flight to Gatwick airport in early December will see Syrian refugees resettled in Barnet, north London.

Humza Yousaf, the Scottish government minister for International Development, told The Independent the arrival of the first charter flight would be a “proud day” for Scotland.

“When the first refugees do arrive here off that first charter flight it will be a moment of huge pride all across Scotland, pride that we are ready and pride in the generosity of the Scottish people is going to be realised,” he said.

Ayham, a Syrian refugee who has settled with his family in Bradford

Gary Christie, head of policy at the Scottish Refugee Council, which has worked with the Scottish Government, added: “The Syrians arriving in Scotland next week have been through hell in their home country and in the refugee camps around Syria’s border. We look forward to welcoming them to Scotland.”

There has been an outpouring of support for Syrian refugees and dozens of councils across the UK have expressed a willingness to assist in the Government’s resettlement programme, which plans to bring 20,000 Syrians into the country over five years. However, The Independent understands the Home Office has instructed the Scottish Government to refrain from officially announcing the arrival in advance or organising high-profile “refugee welcome” events, amid difficulties in convincing councils south of the border to take concrete resettlement steps until a long-term funding formula for refugees is agreed during Comprehensive Spending Review later this month.

Refugee crisis - in pictures Show all 27 1 /27 Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugee crisis - in pictures A child looks through the fence at the Moria detention camp for migrants and refugees at the island of Lesbos on May 24, 2016. AFP/Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Ahmad Zarour, 32, from Syria, reacts after his rescue by MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station) while attempting to reach the Greek island of Agathonisi, Dodecanese, southeastern Agean Sea Refugee crisis - in pictures Syrian migrants holding life vests gather onto a pebble beach in the Yesil liman district of Canakkale, northwestern Turkey, after being stopped by Turkish police in their attempt to reach the Greek island of Lesbos on 29 January 2016. Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees flash the 'V for victory' sign during a demonstration as they block the Greek-Macedonian border Refugee crisis - in pictures Migrants have been braving sub zero temperatures as they cross the border from Macedonia into Serbia. Refugee crisis - in pictures A sinking boat is seen behind a Turkish gendarme off the coast of Canakkale's Bademli district on January 30, 2016. At least 33 migrants drowned on January 30 when their boat sank in the Aegean Sea while trying to cross from Turkey to Greece. Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A general view of a shelter for migrants inside a hangar of the former Tempelhof airport in Berlin, Germany Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees protest behind a fence against restrictions limiting passage at the Greek-Macedonian border, near Gevgelija. Since last week, Macedonia has restricted passage to northern Europe to only Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans who are considered war refugees. All other nationalities are deemed economic migrants and told to turn back. Macedonia has finished building a fence on its frontier with Greece becoming the latest country in Europe to build a border barrier aimed at checking the flow of refugees Refugee crisis - in pictures A father and his child wait after being caught by Turkish gendarme on 27 January 2016 at Canakkale's Kucukkuyu district Refugee crisis - in pictures Migrants make hand signals as they arrive into the southern Spanish port of Malaga on 27 January, 2016 after an inflatable boat carrying 55 Africans, seven of them women and six chidren, was rescued by the Spanish coast guard off the Spanish coast. Refugee crisis - in pictures A refugee holds two children as dozens arrive on an overcrowded boat on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugee crisis - in pictures A child, covered by emergency blankets, reacts as she arrives, with other refugees and migrants, on the Greek island of Lesbos, At least five migrants including three children, died after four boats sank between Turkey and Greece, as rescue workers searched the sea for dozens more, the Greek coastguard said Refugee crisis - in pictures Migrants wait under outside the Moria registration camp on the Lesbos. Over 400,000 people have landed on Greek islands from neighbouring Turkey since the beginning of the year Refugee crisis - in pictures The bodies of Christian refugees are buried separately from Muslim refugees at the Agios Panteleimonas cemetery in Mytilene, Lesbos Refugee crisis - in pictures Macedonian police officers control a crowd of refugees as they prepare to enter a camp after crossing the Greek border into Macedonia near Gevgelija Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A refugee tries to force the entry to a camp as Macedonian police officers control a crowd after crossing the Greek border into Macedonia near Gevgelija Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees are seen aboard a Turkish fishing boat as they arrive on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing a part of the Aegean Sea from the Turkish coast to Lesbos Reuters Refugee crisis - in pictures An elderly woman sings a lullaby to baby on a beach after arriving with other refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A man collapses as refugees make land from an overloaded rubber dinghy after crossing the Aegean see from Turkey, at the island of Lesbos EPA Refugee crisis - in pictures A girl reacts as refugees arrive by boat on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees make a show of hands as they queue after crossing the Greek border into Macedonia near Gevgelija Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures People help a wheelchair user board a train with others, heading towards Serbia, at the transit camp for refugees near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija AP Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees board a train, after crossing the Greek-Macedonian border, near Gevgelija. Macedonia is a key transit country in the Balkans migration route into the EU, with thousands of asylum seekers - many of them from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia - entering the country every day Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures An aerial picture shows the "New Jungle" refugee camp where some 3,500 people live while they attempt to enter Britain, near the port of Calais, northern France Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A Syrian girl reacts as she helped by a volunteer upon her arrival from Turkey on the Greek island of Lesbos, after having crossed the Aegean Sea EPA Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees arrive by boat on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Beds ready for use for migrants and refugees are prepared at a processing center on January 27, 2016 in Passau, Germany. The flow of migrants arriving in Passau has dropped to between 500 and 1,000 per day, down significantly from last November, when in the same region up to 6,000 migrants were arriving daily.

Glasgow, along with cities such as Bradford and Coventry in England, has already resettled a small number of Syrian refugees under a previous Home Office scheme, but the new arrivals, who come from camps in Lebanon and Syria, mark a step-change in the scale of resettlement programme.

Earlier this week the Home Office Permanent Secretary, Mark Sedwill, said the UK was “on track” to meet Mr Cameron’s target of receiving 1,000 Syrians refugees by Christmas, but Mr Yousaf said there had been “tension” between the Home Office and local councils over agreeing a funding formula to support refugees and that many Scottish councils were “further along” in the resettlement process than some councils in England.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said in September that Scotland would accept its “fair share” and it now expects to resettle 400 of the 1,000 Syrians due in the UK before Christmas.

This comes after Scottish councils were given an “absolute assurance” from the Home Office that funding for refugees won’t “drop off a cliff after the first year”, Mr Yousaf said.

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has said that Scotland will take its 'fair share' of Syrian refugees (Getty)

Meanwhile, dozens of councils across England have stepped forward to volunteer to resettle refugees, but without a similar concrete funding commitment in England, it has proved harder to arrange large-scale resettlement amid increasing pressure on the Government to spell out exactly how refugee resettlement will be funded. “The Chancellor must use the Comprehensive Spending Review to provide sustained funding for councils to house and support Syrian refugees,” the Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said.

Yvette Cooper MP, the chair of Labour’s refugee taskforce, said that 60 councils had contacted Labour saying they want to help refugees but were still seeking “reassurance” that they would get long-term government support. She said: With council budgets stretched more than ever, councillors need to know they will get additional funding - not just for one year, but for the entirety of this parliament.”

In London, councillor Richard Watts, leader of Islington Council, said his borough “stands ready to help” and had been at the “forefront of calls” for the Government to accept more refugees. “We are awaiting further details from the Government about when refugees will be arriving and how sufficient funding will be made available,” he said.

David Symonds, chair of the Local Government Association’s asylum and refugee taskforce, said: “We are in negotiation with the Home Office over funding, which is tied up within the comprehensive spending review. We are currently working out how to deal with it.”