The minister for refugees has said he expects “thousands of people” to arrive in the UK next week under the government’s Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme.
Lord Harrington, who was appointed to the role last week and subsequently enrolled into the House of Lords, told the Home Affairs Committee that it “may not be possible” for all accommodation being offered to fleeing refugees to be checked by local councils beforehand.
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The minister for refugees also said he could not guarantee that Ukrainian refugees will be put up in hotels.
“I mean, I’m talking next week… I’m expecting thousands of people to come but it will be their responsibility and, particularly where there’s a possibility of vulnerability with children, this sort of thing, that would take priority,” he told MPs on the committee.
“But if we started saying we’re going to preview it, it’s just not possible.”
‘Not a limit on numbers’
Asked by the committee if he could give assurances that Ukrainian refugees will not be housed in hotels, he replied: “I honestly can’t give you that undertaking. I’d like to but it’s not our intention. But if all else fails, it’s our duty to make sure they’ve got a roof over their head and they’re fed properly.
“It’s not our plan, it’s not our strategy. We’ve got thousands of people from Afghanistan staying in hotels. We’ve got thousands of asylum seekers.
“So it’s not the plan, but I can’t give you 100% assurance because I just don’t know.”
The minister for refugees added that there is “not a limit on numbers at all” in terms of the number of refugees the UK is willing to take.
Total of 5,500 visas now issued
His comments came as Safe and Legal Migration Minister Kevin Foster told the Home Affairs Committee that 5,500 visas have now been granted under the government’s Ukraine Family Scheme, while 20,000 applications have been submitted overall.
The Home Office confirmed these figures were as of 4pm on Tuesday.
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The government is currently relying on the more than 138,000 people who have expressed interest so far under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme to house fleeing refugees.
Authorities to receive £10,500 per refugee
Lord Harrington also told the committee that local authorities will receive £10,500 per refugee for the first year that they are in the UK to support Ukrainians through education, language support, safeguarding and social care.
“We’re going to have to – we’re going to have to find school places and we’re going to have to find extra social workers,” he acknowledged.
After being pressed by Conservative MP Tim Loughton to give regular updates about the Homes for Ukraine process, the minister for refugees confirmed that people who have registered interest under the scheme who have identified someone they can sponsor will be able to apply from Friday.
Visa form to be ‘simplified’
Lord Harrington also announced that the visa form fleeing Ukrainians must fill out will be “simplified” from 49 pages to 30 on the same date.
Meanwhile, Conservative MP Adam Holloway accused the government of making it “extraordinarily difficult” for Ukrainian women and children to reach the UK.
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“I don’t know how many people crossed the Channel yesterday, but I wonder what criminal record checks or checks for war crimes were carried out on them? I mean, are we having a kind of a bit of a double standard?,” Mr Holloway told the committee.
“We’re completely failing to stop what are essentially economic migrants, mostly fit young men, and yet we’re making it incredibly difficult for women and children to come here with enormous reputational damage to a government is doing really well overall.”
Responding, Mr Foster said people arriving from France are detained and have their biometrics taken, with some exceptions for unaccompanied children and families, and “are subject to the very checks you’ve just talked about”.