LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – According to the government, there will be no limit to the number of Ukrainian refugees who can reside with UK host families under a new visa scheme.
The Homes for Ukraine refugee scheme is expected to benefit tens of thousands of displaced people.
More information will be released later, before a website is launched to allow people to register their interest in assisting.
As a “thank you,” the government will pay hosts £350 every month.
There would be “no cap” on the number of people who can be helped under the initiative, Sajid Javid, Health Secretary, told BBC Breakfast.
The administration has been criticised by even its own MPs for the pace and scope of its reaction to the refugee crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.Â
UK people will be able to nominate a family or an individual to live with them rent-free or in another house for the period of at least six months under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Both the refugees and the hosts will be vetted, and applications will be submitted online. Hosts will be compensated £350 per month.
According to the BBC’s chief political correspondent Adam Fleming, the first hosts and refugees will be matched this week, allowing the first Ukrainians to arrive in the UK via this route in around two weeks.
Local governments will also receive an extra £10,500 per refugee for support services, including more for school-aged children.
Michael Gove, Levelling up secretary will later today give a statement in Parliament to provide more specifics.
‘Too mean’
While the NSPCC wanted the Homes for Ukraine programme to start as soon as possible, it was concerned about safety checks on potential hosts.
“Vital child protection is incorporated into every stage of the government’s and local authorities’ response to this catastrophe,” the children’s charity said.
Danny Kruger, a Conservative MP, told the BBC that Home Secretary Priti Patel “must accept responsibility” for the issues Ukrainian refugees have faced in the UK thus far.
Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, called the UK’s refugee help “too slow, too narrow, and too mean.”
Sir Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, said on Sunday that Ms Patel should be fired for managing the response with “incompetence, indifference, and simple inhumanity.”
The Home Office defended the requirement for security checks on Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion, claiming that it is necessary to ensure that the UK assists only those who are truly in need, claiming that it has already seen people falsely claim to be Ukrainian.
