Responding to the government announcement that the Homes for
Ukraine scheme will allow eligible children and minors under the
age of 18 who have already applied through the Homes for Ukraine
Scheme to come to the UK without a parent or guardian, Cllr James
Jamieson, Chairman of the Local Government Association, said:
“Councils stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and want
to do all they can to support those who have been forced to flee
the desperate humanitarian crisis caused by the war.
“Councils continue to support families to build new lives in the
UK. If Ukrainian children are unable to travel to the UK with
their parents, it is vital that we can ensure we have a
system that keeps them safe. While we support plans to make it
easier for children to seek sanctuary in the UK, with their
relatives or family friends as quickly as possible,
councils’ top priority will always be to keep children safe.
We do have real concerns about the potential for children to come
to stay with adults they don’t know or don’t know well, and we
want to ensure there are effective checks in place given there
will always be people who abuse these systems and who pose a
significant threat to children travelling on their own.
“Any system must include appropriate vetting of the people they
will be staying with in advance of travel, the right support for
everyone involved, and ongoing checks of children’s safety and
wellbeing. It must also draw on the expertise and resources of
partners including health, schools, and the voluntary and
community sector to support them through the significant trauma
they have experienced.
“Any additional new scheme would require
already-overstretched councils and children’s social work teams
to manage a significant level of risk to keep children safe. We
are pleased that the Government is working closely with the LGA
and councils as we need to develop a robust system that puts in
place appropriate safeguards and minimises the risks to children
while ensuring we can play our part in supporting the people of
Ukraine.
“We also want to continue to work with government and local and
national partners on the support needs for all those arriving in
the UK from Ukraine, including what happens when sponsorships
end. All new arrivals to the UK will need additional support from
councils and their partners, including finding new homes and
accessing jobs, schools and healthcare, in a way that best meets
their needs. We are particularly keen to work with the
Government urgently on a cross-Whitehall planned approach to
access to accommodation across all programmes for people building
new lives in new communities.”
