The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations (Michael Gove) With
permission, Mr Speaker, I will make a statement on our Government’s
response to help those fleeing the conflict in Ukraine. This
Government and this House—indeed, everyone in the UK—continue to be
in awe of the bravery of the people of Ukraine. They are victims of
savage, indiscriminate, unprovoked aggression. Their courage under
fire...Request free trial
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations ()
With permission, Mr Speaker, I will make a statement on our
Government’s response to help those fleeing the conflict in
Ukraine.
This Government and this House—indeed, everyone in the
UK—continue to be in awe of the bravery of the people of Ukraine.
They are victims of savage, indiscriminate, unprovoked
aggression. Their courage under fire and determination to resist
inspires our total admiration.
The United Kingdom stands with the Ukrainian people. My right
hon. Friend the Defence Secretary has been in the vanguard of
those providing military assistance. My right hon. Friend the
Foreign Secretary has been co-ordinating diplomatic support and,
with my right hon. Friends the Chancellor and Business Secretary,
implementing a new and tougher than ever sanctions regime. The
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Home Office
have also been providing humanitarian support on the ground to
Ukraine’s neighbours, helping them to cope with the displacement
of hundreds of thousands of people—but more can, and must, be
done.
To that end, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has already
expanded the family route. She has also confirmed that from
tomorrow Ukrainians with passports will be able to apply for UK
visas entirely online without having to visit visa application
centres. As a result, the number of Ukrainians now arriving in
this country is rapidly increasing and numbers will grow even
faster from tomorrow.
We also know, however, that the unfailingly compassionate British
public want to help further. That is why today we are answering
that call with the announcement of a new sponsorship scheme,
Homes for Ukraine. I thank my right hon. Friend the Home
Secretary and officials in the Home Office, in my own Department
and across Government for their work over the course of the past
days and weeks to ensure that we can stand up this scheme as
quickly as possible. In particular, I thank my noble Friend
, now of Watford, whose
experience in ensuring that the Syrian refugee resettlement
programme was a success will prove invaluable in ensuring that we
do right by the people of Ukraine.
The scheme that has helped us to design
draws on the enormous good will and generosity of the British
public, and our proud history of supporting the vulnerable in
their hour of greatest need. The scheme will allow Ukrainians
with no family ties to the UK to be sponsored by individuals or
organisations who can offer them a home. There will be no limit
to the number of Ukrainians who can benefit from it.
The scheme will be open to all Ukrainian nationals and residents,
and they will be able to live and work in the United Kingdom for
up to three years. They will have full and unrestricted access to
benefits, healthcare, employment and other support. Sponsors in
the UK can be of any nationality, with any immigration status,
provided they have at least six months’ leave to remain within
the UK.
Sponsors will have to provide accommodation for a minimum of six
months. In recognition of their generosity, the Government will
provide a monthly payment of £350 to sponsors for each family
whom they look after. These payments will be tax-free. They will
not affect benefit entitlement or council tax status. Ukrainians
arriving in the United Kingdom will have access to the full range
of public services—doctors, schools, and full local authority
support. Of course we want to minimise bureaucracy and make the
process as straightforward as possible while doing everything we
can to ensure the safety of all involved. Sponsors will therefore
be required to undergo necessary vetting checks, and we are also
streamlining processes to security-assess the status of
Ukrainians who will be arriving in the United Kingdom.
From today, anyone who wishes to record their interest in
sponsorship can do so on gov.uk; the webpage has gone live as I
speak. We will then send any individual who registers further
information setting out the next steps in this process. We will
outline what is required of a sponsor and set out how sponsors
can identify a named Ukrainian individual or family who can then
take up each sponsorship offer. Because we want the scheme to be
up and running as soon as possible, Homes for Ukraine will
initially facilitate sponsorship between people with known
connections, but we will rapidly expand the scheme in a phased
way, with charities, churches and community groups, to ensure
that many more prospective sponsors can be matched with
Ukrainians who need help. We are of course also working closely
with the devolved Administrations to make sure that their kind
offers of help are mobilised. I know that all concerned want to
play their part in supporting Ukrainians, who have been through
so much, to ensure that they feel at home in the United Kingdom,
and I am committed to working with everyone of good will to
achieve this.
Our country has a long and proud history of supporting the most
vulnerable during their darkest hour. We took in refugees fleeing
Hitler’s Germany, those fleeing repression in Idi Amin’s Uganda,
and those who fled the atrocities of the Balkan wars. More
recently, we have offered support to those fleeing persecution in
Syria, Afghanistan and Hong Kong. We are doing so again with
Homes for Ukraine. We are a proud democracy. All of us in this
House wish to see us defend and uphold our values, stand shoulder
to shoulder with our allies, and offer a safe haven to people who
have been forced to flee war and persecution. The British people
have already opened their hearts in so many ways. I am hopeful
that many will also be ready to open their homes and help those
fleeing persecution to find peace, healing and the prospect of a
brighter future. That is why I commend this statement to the
House.
Mr Speaker
I call shadow Secretary of State .
4.12pm
(Wigan) (Lab)
We were so relieved to hear that the Secretary of State was going
to announce a scheme to allow Ukrainian refugees a route to
safety after weeks of delay, but a press release is not a plan,
and we are really deeply concerned about the lack of urgency.
Yesterday, he went on TV to claim that Ukrainians could be here
by Sunday, but he has just told us that they will still need a
visa under the current application process. These are 50-page
forms that have to be completed online, asking people who have
fled with nothing to find an internet café to upload documents
they do not have—water bills and mortgage documents—to prove who
they are. The Home Office has been incredibly slow in issuing
these visas. As of this morning, only 4,000 have been issued. We
are lagging way behind the generosity of other countries. We
could simplify this process today. We could keep essential checks
but drop the excessive bureaucracy. He knows it; why has it not
been done?
For weeks the British people have been coming forward in large
numbers to offer help. It has been moving and heartwarming to see
the decency and spirit on display in every corner of this
country. But what exactly will the Government be doing,
especially in relation to matching families to sponsors? On the
Secretary of State’s tour of the TV studios, he suggested several
times that people who are willing to sponsor a Ukrainian family
need to come to the Government with the name of that family, and
they will then rubber-stamp it. He cannot seriously be asking
Ukrainian families who are fleeing Vladimir Putin, and who have
left their homes with nothing, to get on to Instagram and
advertise themselves in the hope that a British family might
notice them. Is that genuinely the extent of this scheme? Surely
there is a role for the Secretary of State in matching Ukrainian
families to their sponsors, not just a DIY asylum scheme where
all he does is take the credit. Will he please clarify what the
Government’s role is going to be?
There has been a lack of urgency in getting people here and there
is still a lack of urgency in ensuring that we support them when
they do get here. Earlier today, my right hon. Friend the Member
for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford () and I spoke to council
leaders, who stand ready and willing to help. Why has not anyone
from the Secretary of State’s Department picked up the phone to
them? Last week, I spoke to charities that he will ask to act as
sponsors. They are acutely aware that the people who are coming
will be quite unlike previous refugees.
Two million people are on the march—children alone, mums with
very young kids and older people. The brutal reality of what is
happening in Ukraine is that working-age people have stayed
behind to fight. Those leaving will have healthcare needs, and
they will need school places, maternity care and social care. One
council leader told me today that his city, which traditionally
plays a major role in welcoming refugees, has only nine secondary
school places available. Has it not occurred to the Secretary of
State until this point to pick up the phone to leaders such as
the one I spoke to before he went into the TV studios and
promised the earth?
These charities and council leaders are the same people who
stepped up during covid. They spin gold out of thread every
single day, and what is keeping them awake at night right now is
how we do right by people and keep them safe. It was only a few
months ago that the Home Office placed a child into a hotel in
Sheffield that it had been told was unsafe without even bothering
to tell the council, and he fell out of a window and died. Will
the Secretary of State ensure that every council is contacted by
close of play today? Will he work with them to do the vetting
checks that are needed? They are experts in safeguarding
children. Will he not only trust them, but support them?
Will the Secretary of State put a safety net in place, in case a
placement breaks down? His Department confirmed over the weekend
that families left homeless in that situation will not be able to
claim their housing costs under universal credit. Surely that
cannot be true. Surely we are not going to ask people who have
fled bombs and bullets to lie homeless on the streets of
Britain.
I suspect that the Secretary of State has felt as ashamed as I
have to watch how this Government have closed the door to people
who need our help. He shakes his head, but people have been
turned back at Calais. They have been left freezing by the
roadside with their children. We have had planes leaving
neighbouring NATO countries packed to the rafters, except those
to London, because this Government have turned people away. The
British people who have come forward have shown that we are a far
better country than our Government, but unless he gets a plan
together—a real plan, not just a press release—all he is
effectively announcing is plans to fail the people of Ukraine
twice over. He said today that they have our total admiration,
and they do, but they need more than that; they need our total
support.
I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her questions and what I think
was her support for our scheme. She asked about the visa
application process and the length and bureaucracy associated
with it. As was announced last week in the House of Commons by
the Home Secretary, and as I repeat today, Ukrainians who have a
valid passport can have their application turned around within 24
hours, but not in the way to which the hon. Lady referred, which
was announced last week. It is time that, instead of
manufacturing synthetic outrage, she kept up with what the
Government and my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary are
delivering. [Interruption.] The hon. Lady has already had a
go.
The hon. Lady asked about matching families and sponsors. We are
moving as quickly as possible to ensure, working with NGOs and
local government, that individuals in need can be found the
families and sponsors they need in order to get people into this
country as quickly as possible. I am grateful to her for speaking
to people in local government this morning; we were speaking and
I was speaking to people in local government 10 days ago to
ensure that this scheme was capable of being delivered.
The hon. Lady asked why we are requiring matching in the way that
we are. That is because our scheme has been developed in
partnership with non-governmental organisations, which have
welcomed our approach. We have been doing the practical work of
ensuring that refugee organisations on the ground can help to
shape our response in order to help those most in need.
I know that the hon. Lady wants to help. I believe that everyone
in this House wants to ensure that this scheme is successful. She
makes a number of valid points about the need for school places.
That is why additional funding is available to every local
authority that will take refugees in order to ensure that school
places are provided.
The hon. Lady asked about wraparound care. We are providing
additional funding to local government to ensure that the
expertise required to provide those who have been traumatised
with the support they need will also be there.
The hon. Lady asked not only about the rapidity of vetting
checks, but about how the comprehensive nature of those vetting
checks can be guaranteed. We have been working with the Home
Office to streamline that process so that it is as quick as
possible, but also to ensure, as she rightly pointed out, that we
do not place vulnerable children in accommodation where they
might be at risk.
In all those cases, every single point that the hon. Lady made
has been addressed by officials, NGOs and those in local
government to ensure that our scheme works. As her questions have
been answered, it now falls to her to get behind the scheme and
support those open-hearted British people who want to ensure that
we can do everything possible to help those in need. It is time
to rise above partisan politics and recognise that this is a
united effort in which our colleagues in the devolved
Administrations and those in NGOs are working with the Government
to put humanity first.
(North Thanet) (Con)
My right hon. Friend has generated a great deal of progress in
the last few days, but he will understand that we still have a
long way to go. I do not want to bore the House or you, Mr
Speaker, with my experiences in France last weekend, but I
learned a lot from them. We need a meet and greet system, and
there are other things that we need to put in place quickly if
the scheme is going to work, so I would be grateful if he or
of Watford could meet me
today or tomorrow to ensure that we avoid some of the elephant
traps that face us if we do not get it right.
Over the last 10 days, my right hon. Friend has been in touch
with me daily to outline offers of help from his constituents and
others. He is a model constituency MP and a humanitarian. of Watford will meet him
tomorrow to ensure that we can operationalise those offers of
help.
Mr Speaker
We come to SNP spokesperson .
(Cumbernauld, Kilsyth
and Kirkintilloch East) (SNP)
I, too, start by thanking people across the UK who have come
forward with incredibly generous offers of accommodation and
support for Ukrainians. Of course, we will do what we can to
support the initiative. We regret, however, that this is only
phase one; things are still not going fast enough. We will
continue to argue that the best response available to the
Government is to stop asking Ukrainians to apply for visas
altogether. On that point, why will people accepted on to the
scheme have to apply for a visa as well? Of course, some of them
may be able to apply online, but an online process is not
necessarily fast.
On sponsorship, we welcome the fact that people with limited
leave to remain are now able to be sponsors, but when does the
Secretary of State anticipate that charities, churches and
community groups will be able to play their part? He explained a
bit about the vetting process, but how will sponsors be supported
to undertake their role? It is not just a question of cash. What
happens if a sponsorship does not work out? What move-on support
will be available?
On financial support, will the £350 a month be available to
sponsors such as community groups as well as to individuals? Does
access to public funds mean full access, including to the housing
element of universal credit? Will there be £10,000 of local
authority support per person as reported in the press?
What about the most vulnerable people, such as orphans, the
elderly and others who will never know about the scheme’s
existence, never mind how to apply to it? Can the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees, for example, refer someone to the
scheme or for resettlement? What support would be provided in
those circumstances? What discussions has the Secretary of State
had with the Scottish and Welsh Governments about their request
to operate as super-sponsors? Will he endeavour to make that
work?
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his support for the scheme. He
made the point about ensuring that we speed up all the security
and visa checks as quickly as possible. As I mentioned, my right
hon. Friend the Home Secretary has already acted in that
regard.
From tomorrow, anyone with a Ukrainian passport will be able to
apply online. Thanks to a surge in the number of caseworkers in
the Home Office, they should be able to have permission turned
around and granted very quickly. A PDF will be sent straight to
them and they can then fly into this country to a warm welcome.
As a result, the surge of staff in our visa application centres
will be able to deal with individuals who, for whatever reason,
do not have a passport or the capacity to secure one quickly,
which means that we will be able to more quickly process the
number of Ukrainians who wish to come here. As was pointed out
earlier, 4,000 visas have been granted and the numbers are due to
surge this week.
The hon. Gentleman made the point that charities, churches and
community groups have all stepped up. We want to ensure that we
are working with all of them this week to facilitate their role,
not just in matching individual sponsors and Ukrainians who might
benefit but in extending the reach of the support we give so that
it is not just a roof over someone’s head but the valuable
interpersonal support of which so many are capable.
When I was chatting to faith groups earlier today, I had the
opportunity to talk to representatives of not just the Ukrainian
Churches, but the Church of England, the Church of Scotland and
the Roman Catholic Church, including the Roman Catholic bishops
in Scotland, all of whom are anxious to ensure that we do
everything that we can to help. For individuals who, for whatever
reason, find that a sponsorship solution does not work for them,
we will ensure that the local government partners and charity
partners with whom we are working receive the resource that they
require. The £350 is there for individuals, but charities and
community groups will have a vital role to play in helping to
marshal individual offers.
The hon. Gentleman made a point about unaccompanied minors,
orphans and others who need our support. We are working with
those on the ground to ensure that we can have the right solution
for them.
Finally, the hon. Gentleman asked about working with the devolved
Administrations. I was grateful to the First Ministers of
Scotland and Wales for their generous offer to act as
super-sponsors, and we are doing everything we can to facilitate
that. My officials are working with those in the Scottish and
Welsh Governments to ensure that we can do that in a way that
enables everyone to live up to their responsibilities.
(Romsey and Southampton
North) (Con)
I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement. He has answered many
of the questions that arose over the weekend, but may I press him
specifically on when he expects phase 2 to start and what work is
already going on with non-governmental organisations? Those
organisations make the point that they have many people who have
already been checked by the Disclosure and Barring Service, but
the volunteers coming forward in my constituency tend not to have
been. We know that there are already backlogs in DBS checking, so
can he assure me that that will be sped up?
I have a practical question about people who are planning to move
home over the course of the next six months. Will they still be
able to take part even if their address changes?
My right hon. Friend makes three good points. We are working this
week with civil society and NGOs. Indeed, and I met them in order to
ensure that we can expedite phase 2 as quickly as possible, and
we will update the House in real time over the next few days. On
the second point, about safeguarding, we are working with the
Home Office. We do not believe that we need to have full DBS
checks in order to ensure that someone is an appropriate sponsor.
Very light-touch criminal checks will often be sufficient, and
then local authorities can be supported in order to ensure that
people are safe, in line with the points made by the
Opposition—points that my right hon. Friend made much more
sharply, of course. If people are moving house, which is
something I have had to do recently, we will do everything
possible to facilitate their support.
Mr Speaker
I call the Chair of the Select Committee on Levelling Up, Housing
and Communities.
(Sheffield South East)
(Lab)
I think that it is accepted in principle there will be general
support for a scheme that allows individuals to welcome refugees
into their homes. In terms of detail, the Secretary of State
accepted that there would be a cost to local authorities, which
will be key to making this work, as I am sure he accepts. Has he
agreed with the Local Government Association—I declare my
interest as a vice-president of the LGA—the costs that local
authorities will get to cover education and other wraparound
support services? Will those costs apply to people who come over
on the community sponsorship scheme and to those on the family
scheme? What about individuals who come here as family members
but then cannot be accommodated in their family’s home because of
the number of refugees involved? What are we going to do to
accommodate those people? How is that accommodation going to be
provided? What is the plan for that?
I am grateful to the Chair of the Select Committee for his
questions. The amount of money we are giving to local government
is based on the Afghan resettlement scheme, so the amount that
will be given to local authorities for early years, primary and
secondary education matches exactly. Indeed, the overall local
authority tariff—I hate to use the word “tariff” when we are
talking about human beings—will be exactly the same. We are
building on arrangements that we have with the LGA, and I have
been in touch with James Jamieson, the leader of the LGA, as well
as individual council leaders, to outline the level of support.
Obviously, we will keep things under review to ensure that local
government has what it needs.
On the second point, about people who come under the family
scheme, there has always been a balance between speed and the
comprehensiveness of an offer. The family scheme was introduced
because we knew that it could be the speediest possible scheme,
but the hon. Gentleman’s question points to a particular
challenge that we have. We still have around 14,000 Afghan
refugees in hotel accommodation, and we still have significant
pressure on local authority accommodation and on housing overall.
As we look to meet humanitarian needs, we need to be as flexible
as possible, and we will be saying more about how we can mobilise
other resources at the disposal of the state, local government or
the private sector in order to provide additional accommodation
of the kind that he mentions.
(Wokingham) (Con)
With a three-year visa but only six months of guaranteed
accommodation, will people have any tenant rights? What is the
back-up provision if the sponsor wants to terminate well before
the end of the visa?
It is our expectation that those who commit to have someone in
their home for six months are undertaking quite a significant
commitment, but it is already the case that the expressions of
interest suggest that there are many people who want to do
exactly that. The experience of previous sponsorship schemes has
been that those who have undertaken such a commitment have found
it a wonderful thing to have done, and the number of those who
have dropped out or opted out has been small. However, it is the
case—my right hon. Friend is absolutely right—that there may be
occasions where relationships break down, and in those
circumstances we will be mobilising the support of not only of
central Government and local government, but of civil society, to
ensure that individuals who are here can move on. The final thing
I would want to say is that many of those on the frontline coming
here will of course be women and children, but many of those
coming here will want to work, to contribute and to be fully part
of society. It is the case already that we have had offers from
those in the private sector willing to provide training and jobs
to people so that they can fully integrate into society for as
long as they are here.
(Vauxhall)
(Lab/Co-op)
I want to go back to the Secretary of State’s point when he
highlighted that over 14,000 Afghan refugees are still in hotels,
including hotels in my constituency of Vauxhall—accommodation
that, frankly, is unsuitable for people suffering long-term
trauma and people fleeing war. I was not quite sure what the
Secretary of State’s response was, but how is he dealing with
that type of long-term, unjustifiable and unsuitable
accommodation?
I have enormous sympathy for the hon. Lady. One of the reasons
why has joined my Department
and is working with the Home Office is to ensure that we can get
people whom we have accepted out of hotel accommodation, which is
unsuitable for the long term, and into the community, but that
requires us to ensure that those local authorities receiving
individuals are supported in the way they are. I would be more
than happy to return to the House to outline the steps we are
taking to deal with this situation, but it comes back to the
essential point that the Chairman of the Select Committee, the
hon. Member for Sheffield South East (Mr Betts), brought out. As
we show a warm welcome to people who are fleeing persecution, we
need to ensure that that welcome can be truly stable and secure.
That means additional accommodation, which means moving beyond
hotels and local authorities, and that is why the Homes for
Ukraine scheme harnesses the kindness of civil society, but there
is more that we must do, and we will update the House in due
course.
(Harlow) (Con)
I strongly welcome the scheme that my right hon. Friend has set
out. It was Sir Nicholas Winton who said:
“If something is not impossible, then there must be a way to do
it”.
May I ask my right hon. Friend if he would extend the scheme, or
the imagination he has set out today, to make sure that Britain
offers a refuge to and harbours Ukrainian orphans who are able to
come here, and will he work with Ukraine to bring them over and
make sure that these children are looked after?
My right hon. Friend makes a characteristically compassionate and
acute point. One of the areas of greatest difficulty is helping
orphans and unaccompanied children, and that is something we need
to do more on, and we will.
(Orkney and Shetland)
(LD)
This is significant and welcome progress, even if I suspect it
still leaves us somewhere short of our obligations under the 1951
convention. Can the Secretary of State explain how this
sponsorship scheme will interact with the rights of those who are
already here, perhaps under a work visa? If their circumstances
change, how will they then be able to obtain the same level of
protection that will be given to refugees coming here under his
scheme?
I am very grateful to the right hon. Gentleman. Of course, the
scheme we are introducing today is not perfect, but we hope to
work with him and others to make sure that it is improved as it
develops. One of the things we want to do is to stress that
anyone who has six months’ residency in the UK can act as a
sponsor, but he quite rightly draws attention to the fact that
there are Ukrainians in this country—some are students, for
example, and others are in a position where they do not have
indefinite leave to remain—and we will seek to regularise their
status. The Home Secretary and are, I know, already on
it.
(Kenilworth and Southam)
(Con)
I very much welcome the conduit for the immense generosity of the
British public that my right hon. Friend has set out. However, as
he has recognised, what a Ukrainian refugee needs is not just a
home, but the services that go with a home and, as others have
said, local authorities will be providing those. Can I ask him
about the very substantial co-ordination challenges not just
between his Department and the Home Office, though that is
important, but between the services that are being provided to
refugees who are already here from other places and the services
for those who will arrive from Ukraine? The fact is that, under
the scheme he has described, people will go where there is a home
for them, not necessarily where there is service provision for
them, and he will need to ensure, will he not, that that service
provision is indeed provided?
My right hon. Friend makes a good point, and this is a
cross-Government, and beyond Government effort. As he reminds us,
we have welcomed people who have come here from Syria or
Afghanistan in a compassionate fashion, but there are delivery
challenges for everyone in Government that we need to work out,
to ensure the right services are there. We expect, but do not
predict, that many of those who will benefit in the first stages
of this scheme will be people moving to areas where there are
already a significant number of people of Ukrainian ancestry.
Some of the social networks will help, but we must ensure that as
the scheme expands, the support is there.
(Wythenshawe and Sale East)
(Lab)
The Secretary of State said that the webpage to volunteer to
sponsor a Ukrainian refugee has gone live, but the ITV
journalist, Paul Brand, has just reported that it does not work
and the site cannot be reached.
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his real-time update. I
am sorry if Paul Brand’s internet connection is wonky. It seems
that the connection of my hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and
Melton () is superior, as she has
just signed up.
(Newbury) (Con)
I welcome today’s announcement, and I have been inundated by
offers from my constituents who have rooms or homes that they
would like to make available. May I ask a prosaic question? One
or two of my constituents have asked about set-up costs and
things like cots and children’s beds. What steps will my right
hon. Friend take, either through his Department or working with
local authorities, to match up individuals with charities, so
that that initial equipment and clothing—all the things families
will need—can be arranged at the start?
I know my hon. Friend has already been working with her
constituents in west Berkshire to do everything possible to
support those who may benefit from this scheme. The charities,
church groups and others with whom I and have been in conversation
over the past few days are already making the sorts of
connections that she has been responsible for making, to ensure
that detailed practical help can be there for those who are
acting so generously.
(City of Durham) (Lab)
Like many, I was confused by the Secretary of State’s suggestion
that sponsors could match with refugees using Twitter and
Instagram. That has raised a number of safeguarding concerns,
given the trauma that many of these people will have been exposed
to. Will refugees have access to the specialist support they
need, and how will they be protected from exploitation in the
UK?
They absolutely will have access to that support. Anyone who acts
as a sponsor will face light-touch vetting checks initially, and
subsequently will be visited by those from local government who,
to be fair, and as the hon. Lady rightly pointed out, are experts
in safeguarding.
(Ashford) (Con)
I very much welcome this announcement, and I am grateful to the
Secretary of State and the Government for listening to voices
from across the House who have been urging this kind of action.
Let me return to local authorities, and particularly lower-tier
local authorities. My council in Ashford has been active and
generous in helping refugees from Syria and Afghanistan. What
should such local authorities that want to help be doing today to
plug themselves into the system?
My right hon. Friend and the One Nation group of Conservative MPs
helped in the development of our policy with some of the ideas
that they shared with the Department. I am grateful to him and
his colleagues, and to individuals across the House who played a
collaborative part in that. The money that we are giving to local
authorities will go to lower-tier local authorities, and I will
ask my Department to ensure that in Ashford, and elsewhere, and
through the good offices of the Local Government Association,
local authorities know how to access the resources they need.
(Sheffield Central)
(Lab)
The Government’s response to the refugee crisis so far has shamed
our country and damaged our reputation abroad. Today’s
announcement is a step forward, but we need to go faster than the
statement suggests to make up for lost time. Will the Secretary
of State confirm to the many groups that have contacted me in
Sheffield over the weekend a date by which the community
sponsorship route will be open?
Friday.
(Harrow East) (Con)
My right hon. Friend is quite right to have a light-touch
approach to vetting for those seeking security. Clearly, large
numbers of the people arriving will be vulnerable—they will be
women and children—and ideally they will be placed with families
with connections. However, inevitably, some will be placed with
others. Will he go further and explain who will do the
vetting—will it be local authorities or be done nationally—to
ensure that these vulnerable people are not placed with anyone
who may exploit them?
Absolutely. It will be a national vetting process initially, with
local authorities following up. As ever—this point has been made
across the House—we have to balance two things: the speed with
which people can be placed and the security of the setting in
which they are placed. Our light-touch approach can ensure that
we are not placing vulnerable individuals with anyone with any
record of criminality. Subsequent to that, of course, there will
be additional checks to ensure that the quality of accommodation
and the basis on which people are housed is decent and fair.
(Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
(PC)
My local authority, Cyngor Gwynedd, has been inundated with
warm-hearted offers of accommodation and support. It is
concerned, however, that it is still being left in the dark. For
instance, despite the announcement of a hotline for the public,
Gwynedd Council has not yet been given a regional contact from
the Government. What will the Secretary of State do to fix his
scheme’s weaknesses in communications and ensure that there are
no brakes from here in Westminster on Wales’s ambition to be a
super-sponsor as a nation of sanctuary for Ukrainian
refugees?
In the conversations that I have had with the Welsh Government,
they have been anxious about co-ordinating with local government
in Wales and indeed civil society so that they can provide
support. On the right hon. Lady’s point about the Welsh
Government being a super-sponsor, I discussed exactly what can be
done with Minister alongside the First Minister of
Scotland. If Gwynedd Council and its councillors require more
information, my Department will endeavour to provide that. If she
faces any challenges, I hope that she will contact me direct to
ensure that her constituents are aware of how to help.
(Watford) (Con)
May I first welcome the appointment of of Watford to his post?
Yesterday, I spent time in the peace garden in Cassiobury park
with the Watford Interfaith Association, who took prayers from
many faiths across the area. I know how important faith is,
especially at this difficult time, so will my right hon. Friend
please set out the steps that his Department is taking to work
with the Ukrainian people and the religious organisations here in
the UK so that we can support them spiritually as well as
physically?
People of all faiths and none have stepped up to demonstrate
their support for those fleeing persecution. In particular, I
thank representatives of Ukrainian Churches here in the United
Kingdom and, in particular, Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski, who has
been talking to the Minister for Levelling Up Communities, my
hon. Friend the Member for Saffron Walden (), in her role as Minister
for faith. Thanks to his and her direct intervention, a number of
Ukrainian-speaking priests were able to come into the country at
an accelerated rate to ensure that we provide the pastoral care
that the Ukrainian community was so keen to see.
(Slough) (Lab)
As with previous refugee crises, the Government’s response to the
Ukraine crisis has been pathetic, revealing the true extent of
the callousness within their hostile environment policy. By the
way, the only reason we have had such a statement, which in
itself was wholly inadequate, was that the Government have been
dragged here, kicking and screaming, by the Opposition, the media
and the good British people, who have said, “This debacle simply
doesn’t represent us. We are much better than this.”
I want to press the Secretary of State on my Slough constituent’s
case. A 15-year-old Ukrainian girl is currently in Poland. She
has had to leave behind the death and destruction as well as her
parents and brother in Ukraine. Her only family outside Ukraine
is in the UK. They have tried their level best to bring her here,
but the Government have shamefully said that she is ineligible
for the Ukraine family scheme because she is not considered to be
a close enough relation. Instead, they prefer to leave a
vulnerable child to fend for herself. What can my constituents do
to bring that young girl to safety?
Madam Deputy Speaker ( )
Order. Just before the Secretary of State answers that, the hon.
Gentleman knows that his question was far too long. All we need
here is questions. Everybody knows the background, and every
Member who stands up does not need to explain it. Just ask the
question, because we have got an awful lot to get through today,
and this is very important.
On the hon. Gentleman’s individual case, Home Office officials
are working incredibly hard every day in Portcullis House to deal
with individual surgery cases of the kind that he mentions. I
urge him to visit the caseworkers there. If for any reason that
is inadequate, just email me direct and we will do everything we
can.
Secondly, the hon. Gentleman says that there is more that the
scheme needs to do in order to be better. It is always the case
that more needs to be done at every point when we are dealing
with a humanitarian tragedy. We all recognise that, but I would
respectfully say to him two things. First, this country has taken
in people from Syria and Afghanistan, we are taking in people
from Ukraine, and it is an uncapped scheme. Secondly, while we
are going to disagree politically, I have had it up to here with
people trying to suggest that this country is not generous. And
as for all this stuff about the hostile environment, that was
invented under a Labour Home Secretary, so can we just chuck the
partisan nonsense and get on with delivery?
(East Worthing and Shoreham) (Con)
I applaud the generosity of the scheme. It is a shame that the
Opposition have been on a scavenger hunt for the negatives in a
very churlish way. May I ask two practical questions? First, some
people do not have accommodation free for the whole year, for
example where students have gone off to university, so will there
be a scheme whereby there can be shared responsibility to take on
family members? Secondly, on sponsoring work placements, how will
the many hospitality businesses in Worthing that want to bring in
chefs go about that? It needs to be done locally, because it is
no good offering a job to somebody in a restaurant in Worthing if
they have been placed in a home in Sunderland.
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for making those points. To
provide people with the jobs and support they need, we will work
with him and others who are making business offers. I am very
grateful to him for the work he has already done and continues to
do to help the most vulnerable who are fleeing persecution.
Brendan O'Hara (Argyll and Bute) (SNP)
I have been humbled by the response of the people of Argyll and
Bute who have contacted me already to offer accommodation to
fleeing Ukrainian refugees. Similarly, having met the chief
executive of the council on Friday, I know that it, too, stands
ready to play its part, as it did magnificently when Syrian
refugees found shelter in Argyll and Bute after having also fled
Putin’s bombs. Under the terms of the scheme, will local
authorities be allowed to be sponsors for refugees?
The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right: the welcome that local
authorities and people across Scotland showed to Syrians fleeing
persecution, and the willingness they are showing to help
Ukrainians fleeing persecution, is great. He is absolutely right
that people in Argyll and island communities have already done
that. We hope to allow the Scottish Government to be a super
sponsor and allow them to work with local authorities in
Scotland. That is what Scottish Government Ministers have
proposed to us as the best way forward, and it seems sensible to
me. We just need to try to make it work.
(Forest of Dean) (Con)
I strongly welcome the scheme that my right hon. Friend set out,
but may I urge him to ensure that safeguarding and checking
measures remain proportionate? As Conservatives, we generally
believe that people can make decisions for themselves. I agree
that with unaccompanied children safeguarding is critical, but
the state should not get in the way of the generous response of
the British people. Let us ensure that the checks are
proportionate to the risk. Let the British people respond in the
way that they already have.
I am very grateful to my right hon. Friend for his common-sense
perspective, which I completely share.
(Battersea) (Lab)
My constituency has a proud record of welcoming refugees. Of the
families who require settlement here, there will be some with an
adult or a child with a disability who will have specific needs
and require specific support. Will the Secretary of State confirm
whether specialist support will be available—his statement did
not allude to that—and whether there will be additional funding
for it?
The hon. Lady makes a very important point. I know what a
passionate and effective spokesperson she is for those living
with disabilities. Absolutely, we will work with local government
to ensure support is there for women, children and others fleeing
persecution, many of whom will be living with disabilities and
will need additional support.
(Buckingham) (Con)
I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement. I know that
Buckinghamshire Council stands ready to do all it can to support
and give a warm welcome, with good services, to Ukrainian
families coming to Buckinghamshire under the scheme. To assist it
with its planning, will he confirm whether funds made available
to local authorities will just be for local authority services or
will councils have to have a dual function of commissioning
services from the NHS, academy trusts in schools and so on?
The funding we will make available will cover general local
authority costs. There will be an additional supplement for
education, for the early years, for primary school and for
secondary schools, but we are working with Martin Tett, a great
local council leader, and others to ensure that any specific
additional support that may be required is tailored
appropriately.
(Worsley and Eccles South)
(Lab)
I seek some clarifications from the Secretary of State. Charities
such as Refugees at Home arrange hosting of refugees following a
visit from a referrer or home visitor to assess the potential
placement and liaise with potential hosts. Is that the role in
the scheme that he envisages for such charities? He mentioned
churches, charities and community organisations. The third sector
is ready to help and has always stepped up, but it is not easy
when it has already given such a lot during the pandemic. Will
such charities be properly supported financially to help them
expand the work they do quickly?
On the first point, Refugees at Home has done an amazing job in
helping to support the existing sponsorship route, which, as
colleagues from across the House have pointed out, although
admirable is not appropriate, in its own limited way, for what we
are doing now. We have been talking to charities over the past 10
days to make sure that we learn from them about what level of
support may be required. If more capacity building is needed
within the third sector, we stand ready to do that. But we have
been working with Reset Communities and Refugees, Citizens UK,
the Sanctuary Foundation, the Red Cross and others to make sure
that we can support them.
(New Forest East) (Con)
May I ask for an official point of contact for a very valuable
resource, the Council for At-Risk Academics, which has not only
been rescuing scholars from dictatorial regimes since 1933 but
co-ordinates sponsorship from a network of universities? The main
danger is a disconnect between the work it can do and the new
sponsorship organisation and admission organisation. May we have
an official point of contact for CARA?
I was able to talk to a leading academic at the University of
Manchester earlier today who is working in a very similar field.
I will make sure that my right hon. Friend is put in touch with
an appropriate official contact in my Department, and either I or
will be back in touch with
my right hon. Friend in the next 24 hours.
(Belfast East) (DUP)
The media contribution yesterday and the statement this afternoon
have spurred on optimistic aspiration for those in my
constituency and across the UK who wish to help. Will the
Secretary of State dedicate a hotline for parliamentarians like
us who want to iron out the cracks for individuals to assist
them? We have heard about Wales and Scotland, but we know that
the political situation is not as fertile as we would like it to
be in Northern Ireland. Is he confident that schools, hospitals
and housing will be made available, knowing, as he does, that
they do not rest within local government?
Absolutely. I have two points to make. First, we know the
political situation in Northern Ireland, but we did have an
opportunity to talk to Jayne Brady of the Northern Ireland civil
service in order to make sure that Northern Ireland was fully
looped into this approach. Both the Secretary of State and the
Minister of State in the Northern Ireland Office are committed to
doing everything to help. will be holding regular
surgeries for Members of Parliament, from all parties, who wish
to help and mobilise local resource.
(Stroud) (Con)
The people of Stroud are extremely big-hearted and they want to
help in as many ways as possible, so we really welcome this
innovative scheme, which I understand is the first of its kind
anywhere. This offer is, however, complex, with many moving
parts. As my right hon. Friend said, many refugees coming here
will be mothers and women with children, so will he confirm that
he is working with the Department for Work and Pensions to make
sure that it is ready to assist with benefits and childcare
options, because we know that many of these people will want to
work and the jobs are actually there?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and the Secretary of State
for Work and Pensions has been working incredibly energetically
with her team to provide the basis for such support.
(Kingston upon Hull North)
(Lab)
I welcome the Secretary of State’s announcement, and we are
grateful to for having already agreed
to appear before the Home Affairs Committee on Wednesday to
answer questions.
How assured is the Secretary of State about the visa requirement
that is still in place for Ukrainians coming to this country? As
the Home Secretary said, 90% of Ukrainians do not have a passport
and will therefore have to go to the visa application centres,
which have been beset with problems—not opening as often as we
want them to, online systems going down, and many other problems.
They have struggled to deal with the family visa system for
Ukrainian people. How assured is the Secretary of State that this
will work, and will be up and running soon?
I am grateful to the Chair of the Select Committee. and I have been seeking to
assure ourselves, with our Home Office colleagues, that the
system that will go live from tomorrow and will enable passport
holders—although, as the right hon. Lady pointed out, that is not
every Ukrainian—to secure rapidly, online, the PDF form to which
I referred earlier, will allow them ease of access. It is true
that, as the right hon. Lady rightly observed, there have been
challenges—I will not go into all the reasons now; she knows them
very well—with the operation of our visa application centres,
but, as well as setting up the new centre in Arras in northern
France to which my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary referred
last week, we have expanded opening hours in many other centres.
In particular, Warsaw and Rzeszów in Poland, which were
previously not open at the weekend because of complicated Polish
labour laws, are now fully open. We will update the House
continually on the speed and the effectiveness with which the
centres are processing applications.
(Berwickshire, Roxburgh and
Selkirk) (Con)
I welcome this important announcement. My constituents in the
Scottish Borders are desperate to help. There is a slightly
different system in Scotland, with the Scottish Government taking
on a super sponsor position. Can the Secretary of State reassure
me that his officials and the Department will work with Scottish
Borders Council and the Scottish Government to ensure that the
system is seamless, that those people wanting to help are able to
do so, and that families coming to this country are supported in
every way possible?
Absolutely. We are of course working with the Scottish
Government, and the scheme that will go live this week will allow
individuals anywhere in the United Kingdom to offer to act as
sponsors. We have explained to the Scottish Government that we
just want to crack on.
(Cardiff West) (Lab)
Britain and Ireland are both surrounded by water, and neither is
part of Schengen, yet Ireland has taken three times as many
Ukrainian refugees as Britain despite having a population 13
times smaller. Why?
I will never criticise the Irish Government.
(Winchester) (Con)
The big society is back, and it is welcome, as are the expansion
of the family scheme and the new sponsorship scheme which, as my
right hon. Friend will know, I was very impatient to see last
week. Certainly the 1,700 of us who stood together in Winchester
cathedral on Saturday with our prayers for Ukraine are very
appreciative.
The phased response is sensible. We cannot allow the perfect to
be the enemy of the good; we have to get this up and running. Is
my right hon. Friend working to a trigger or a timeline for when
the charities and the church groups can become involved?
That will happen as quickly as possible, not least because of the
impassioned advocacy of my hon. Friend.
Ms Anum Qaisar (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP)
Many of my constituents have expressed to me their concern that
the UK is simply not doing enough to help Ukrainian refugees.
This Tory Government, of course, have form. Whether we are
talking about refugees from Syria, Afghanistan or Ukraine, they
have a tendency to introduce red tape and shy away from their
moral duty.
In his answers today, the Secretary of State has repeatedly
referred to a “warm welcome”—which was, of course, the name given
to the scheme designed to help Afghans. We know that that scheme
is not running as smoothly as it should be, and it is not
necessarily a “warm welcome”. What reassurances can the Secretary
of State give us that these are not empty words, and that those
who are fleeing conflict will be genuinely welcomed?
The good news is that the hon. Lady’s predecessor as Member of
Parliament for Airdrie and Shotts—one of north Lanarkshire’s
finest—is now the Minister in the Scottish Government responsible
for this. I look forward to working with , a great man.
(Rutland and Melton)
(Con)
I thank my right hon. Friend for his hard work to operationalise
this system. It will provide a stable place of refuge rather than
leaving people in hotels for too long, and I know that the people
of Rutland and Melton will join me in opening their hearts and
their homes. My ask is that we do all that we can to ensure that
the most vulnerable people come here, because they will not
always have contacts in the UK and they are the most likely to be
trapped in the east. Can he reassure me that we will focus our
efforts on those most in need?
My hon. Friend makes some good points. My hon. Friend the Member
for Winchester () said that we must not make the
perfect the enemy of the good, and this scheme is not perfect,
but we are trying to ensure that we can move as rapidly as
possible. That is why named sponsors are being deployed; it means
that we can get people into homes. Again, we know that there is
pressure on other accommodation. We will be seeing and doing more
in every day that comes.
(Oldham East and
Saddleworth) (Lab)
I also welcome this scheme, and my constituents have been
contacting me about what they can do to provide such
accommodation, but can I gently remind the Secretary of State
that there are still thousands of women, activists, prosecutors,
judges and others in Afghanistan who are still waiting to hear
from the Afghan resettlement scheme? Will this type of scheme
include those people in a further roll-out?
I appreciate that there is pressure on the Afghan resettlement
scheme. When it was set up, it was going to involve 20,000 people
this year and then be extended. We are working with our partners,
and part of Lord Harrington’s new responsibilities will include
ensuring not only that we get those who are currently in hotel
accommodation into more settled accommodation but that we live up
to our obligation to others.
(Beckenham) (Con)
Can I ask my right hon. Friend whether any consideration has been
given to establishing an advance office on the Ukraine-Polish
border? People could go to such an office to get advice and some
help to get to the UK, possibly in combination with those
extremely good non-governmental organisations, particularly the
International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees. Putting them all together right
on the border would really help people coming through who do not
know what to do.
My right hon. Friend has a distinguished record when it comes to
helping people in conflict areas. I will work with the Home
Secretary to ensure that our resources on the ground are
positioned appropriately.
(Dundee East) (SNP)
I have spoken to senior councillors in Dundee over the last week,
and the city council remains open and willing to take and
accommodate Ukrainian refugees. I also heard what the Minister
said about working closely with the devolved Administrations who
wish to become super-sponsors. Given that the Governments of
Scotland and Wales know far more than I or the Minister do about
their capacity and the capacity of their local governments, why
does he not simply allocate substantial numbers of Ukrainian
refugees to Scotland and Wales and let them get on with the job
of providing sanctuary?
That is what we want to do.
(North Devon) (Con)
I thank my right hon. Friend for today’s announcement. Can he
confirm that, if households are taking on a family or individual
registered with a community support charity—such as the Pickwell
Foundation in North Devon, which has a proven track record of
providing a warm, safe and sustainable welcome to refugees—they
will still receive the £350 a month?
Yes, the individuals will.
(Dulwich and West Norwood)
(Lab)
Both my local boroughs, Lambeth and Southwark, stand ready and
willing to welcome refugees from Ukraine, as they have welcomed
refugees from many other parts of the world in the past, but it
is really hard for them to do so if they are not formally a part
of the Government’s scheme. They will inevitably be playing
catch-up on who is arriving in their area and what their support
needs are. Local authorities know their communities best, and by
cutting them out of a formal role in the scheme, the Government
will create avoidable problems and inefficiencies. Will Secretary
of State think again about the vital role that local authorities
have to play in making sure that refugees have the fullest
possible welcome in all our communities across the UK?
I do not believe that we have cut local government out of the
scheme, but of course I am committed to working with Lambeth,
Southwark and other local authorities to ensure that individuals
who are placed with sponsors are provided with all the support
that local government is capable of providing and that local
government gets the resource needed from central Government.
(Clwyd West) (Con)
Many older people, particularly the widowed, who live alone in
larger homes with plenty of spare rooms will be keen to offer
refuge to Ukrainian refugees. However, quite reasonably, they
will need to be assured that it is entirely safe to do so. My
right hon. Friend says the Government are streamlining the
processes to security assess the status of Ukrainians arriving
here. Could he give more details on those processes, please?
As I mentioned earlier, in the context of the Home Secretary’s
announcement last week, we want to make sure that anyone who
applies, either using a Ukrainian passport or through a visa
application centre, goes through basic security checks. As we
know, it is a hard and difficult fact that there are malign
actors in that part of eastern Europe who may wish to abuse the
scheme, so we have to balance security against other
considerations. The speed with which we can now turn around
applications is a sign that we are prioritising compassion.
(North Ayrshire and Arran)
(SNP)
The Secretary of State says he hopes that many people will be
ready to open their home, but it seems that, due to Home Office
guidance, none of the 3,000-plus spare rooms offered to Afghan
refugees by hosts across the UK has been used. That does not
inspire confidence in the Ukrainian scheme, so what steps will he
take to ensure that the Ukraine sponsorship scheme is more
successful than the Afghan scheme and that Home Office guidance
facilitates rather than blocks Ukrainian refugees from settling
here in the UK?
The Home Secretary and I will do everything possible to improve
the operation of the scheme, in line with the hon. Lady’s
points.
(Brecon and Radnorshire)
(Con)
I commend my right hon. Friend for the urgency he has brought to
this issue, but may I press him to go faster still? Hay, Brecon
and Talgarth Sanctuary for Refugees in my constituency has
already done a phenomenal amount of work, and it stands ready to
offer homes to people in Ukraine who do not know anyone in this
country, as do my many tourism and hospitality businesses. Will
he direct his officials to go even faster on phase 2 of the
scheme so that we get this rolled out as quickly as possible?
We absolutely will, and I recognise that individuals are already
making offers. I had conversations with NGOs and others today,
and they will be doing their very best for anyone who is willing
to allow a match to be made. It is striking how charities and
civil society organisations can be much faster and nimbler than
even the best Government Department in bringing people
together.
(Newport West) (Lab)
Following a really successful rally yesterday in which the people
of Newport West and surrounding areas demonstrated their wish to
help to house Ukrainian refugees, will the Secretary of State
confirm that data on arrivals via this new route will be shared
with councils? After all, having access to this data would help
to ensure that children’s health and education needs are met
quickly.
The hon. Lady makes a very important point. It is critical that
we ensure data is shared in a timely fashion.
(North West Cambridgeshire)
(Con)
I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement. We all recognise
that, in time, people will be able to register for NHS services.
However, some people will need urgent medical treatment. Will he
kindly liaise with the Secretary of State for Health and Social
Care to ensure that those who need urgent healthcare get it, even
though they might not have an NHS number?
My hon. Friend makes an important point. The Secretary of State
for Health and Social Care moved with amazing speed to provide
support to some of the most vulnerable, and he spoke to the
Ukrainian ambassador earlier today about what more the NHS might
be able to do. We will absolutely act in that spirit.
(Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
(SNP)
Have the United Kingdom Government set a cap, either actual or
notional, on how many refugees we will take from Ukraine? If so,
how was it, or will it be, decided?
We will do everything possible to make sure the Scottish
Government are satisfied.
(Runnymede and Weybridge)
(Con)
I welcome my right hon. Friend’s announcement. On the
safeguarding of vulnerable refugees, I listened very carefully to
what he said about historical and ongoing safety checks. Who will
do the ongoing checks on refugee safety?
Local government, who are experts in safeguarding.
(Cynon Valley) (Lab)
The First Minister of Wales, , said at the weekend that
visas should not be necessary
“as they are not necessary in the European Union”.
Along with his Scottish counterpart, he has called on the UK
Government to waive visa requirements. This morning, the chief
executive of the Welsh Refugee Council said that the scheme is
not a humanitarian response, particularly in comparison with
other European countries that have accepted hundreds of thousands
of people. She described the scheme as
“quite disheartening…quite shocking, frankly.”
Will the Secretary of State look again at the heartless visa
requirement scheme, which is so out of touch with the people of
Britain and indeed the devolved nations? Will he please put
people first instead?
I am sorry that the hon. Lady feels as she does. I should say
that, when I was talking to representatives of the Refugee
Council, one of them said as we unveiled the scheme that they
took their hat off to the Government because they were so pleased
with what we have done. They want us to go further and, as I
acknowledged earlier, the scheme is not perfect, but we have to
balance speed with breadth, comprehensiveness, safety, security
and other considerations.
I am grateful for the hon. Lady’s question, because I can update
the House that, since the website went live less than an hour
ago, 1,500 people have already registered through the scheme in
order to provide support.
(East Devon) (Con)
I thank my right hon. Friend on behalf of East Devon for the
Homes for Ukraine scheme. I have already received countless
offers of accommodation from our generous towns and villages in
East Devon. Could he outline the safeguarding measures in place,
both for sponsors and for refugees?
My hon. Friend is right. First, we need a light-touch approach
that means that, when individuals come forward, we can be certain
that they do not have any record of criminality. Subsequently,
local government, including the excellent council in East Devon,
can visit to ensure that accommodation is right. The checks that
we are placing on people coming into the country, as we touched
on earlier, are there to ensure that the tiny minority of bad
actors, some of whom can be particularly exploitative and
malignant, are kept out so that the scheme works for those who
genuinely need it.
(Glasgow North West)
(SNP)
May I press the Secretary of State again on the question that my
hon. Friend the Member for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock () asked: will there be a cap
on the number of Ukrainians allowed into the UK? If my
constituents register today for the scheme, how quickly can they
expect to have Ukrainians in their house?
First, there is no cap overall on the number of people who can
benefit. Secondly, as I mentioned, the Scottish Government have
suggested that they could act as a super-sponsor for 3,000, and
we are working with them.
On the hon. Lady’s particular point, if one of her constituents
registers today, that means that they can be updated. Come this
Friday, they and a named Ukrainian could complete the form. As
soon as the form is completed, there will be a turnaround to
ensure that the security checks on both sides are safely done.
That should mean, God willing, that there can be Ukrainians
coming to Glasgow in just over a week’s time.
(Luton South) (Lab)
Luton welcomes refugees. We stepped up to welcome any Afghan
refugees, and our community is now stepping up to support our
Ukrainian residents and refugees. However, far too many families
of Afghan refugees are still in hotels in Luton, and there is a
great deal of pressure on our housing system. What plans and
measures are in place to support families moving into longer-term
housing? Will the £350-a-month scheme be considered for other
refugees, which might be more culturally appropriate?
There are at least two very important points there. First, of
course we need to move faster to move people from hotel
accommodation into more suitable long-term accommodation, but
there are constraints. I am not criticising anyone; it is just
that there are constraints in Luton and elsewhere. That is why we
need to think about how we can find, and indeed secure, more
suitable accommodation. We have done amazing work—the
Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and
Communities, my hon. Friend the Member for Walsall North (), has done amazing work—in
making sure that homeless people, some of whom were originally
from eastern Europe, are off the streets and in secure and safe
accommodation, but more must be done.
The £350 payment has been designed to support people who are
offering up their own homes, but let us see how it goes and see
what more we can do in future.
(Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
(SNP)
Bryce Cunningham of Mossgiel farm in my constituency has already
done a fantastic job of organising getting aid out to a Polish
charity. He is interested in being a sponsor and providing
employment for Ukrainian refugees, but he does not have the
physical accommodation in which to put them up. Would he be able
to use the £350 a month housing allowance to, say, come to a
rental agreement with the local authority? Would the Secretary of
State reconsider allowing local authorities and community bodies
to access that £350 a month so that we can provide as much help
as possible for as many refugees as possible?
Although I do not know all the details of the hon. Gentleman’s
constituent, it seems to me that what he wants to do is wholly
admirable and something that we should facilitate. I will ask my
team to be in touch with the hon. Gentleman and East Ayrshire
Council to make sure that they can deliver in the way
required.
(North Down) (Alliance)
May I press the Secretary of State further on the situation in
respect of Northern Ireland? Will he clarify whether the
registration works at the UK level or the local level? Will the
matching and the vetting be done at the UK level? How will
Northern Ireland Departments access resources—will there be a
Barnett consequential or will they apply for a grant from the UK
Government?
On the first point, I believe that, unless told otherwise and
unless there is any barrier—by which I mean a technical barrier,
not a legal barrier—any UK citizen anywhere in the United Kingdom
can act as a sponsor. On the second point, we are discussing with
the devolved Administrations how we can provide additional
support, because if we were to restrict it simply to a Barnett
consequential and then found that, as it happened, there were
many more sponsors in Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales than in
other parts of the United Kingdom, that would not be fair on
those individuals. We want to take a flexible approach.
Madam Deputy Speaker ( )
I thank the Secretary of State for thoroughly answering a large
number of important questions.
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