14 2GM Friday April 8 2022 | the times
News
More than 1,000 refugees have now
arrived in the UK under the Homes for
Ukraine scheme but dozens have
already seen their accommodation
arrangements collapse, The Times has
been told.
As of yesterday, about 10,000 visas
had been granted out of a total of
40,000 applications submitted under
the scheme, which opened three weeks
ago. However, only a tenth of those
issued with visas have arrived.
The Polish government has asked the
UK for more financial support to help
look after the 2.5 million Ukrainian re-
fugees it has taken in.
Marcin Przydacz, the deputy foreign
minister, told Toda y on BBC Radio 4:
“They could offer a bit more financial
support, you know, those 2.5 million
people need accommodation. Half of
them are kids, which we are success-
fully integrating to the Polish schooling
system. But it also brings some costs.
Suddenly, in a couple of weeks, we are
2.5 million bigger. Any kind of financial
assistance would be of equal import-
ance, and very much welcome.”
the number of matches that had failed
but estimated that at least 40 had col-
lapsed. A second source corroborated
the estimate, saying: “We accept that
something has happened on this scale... but it will be rare that matches fall
News War in Ukraine
Female refugees seeking new homes
after sexual advances by British hosts
Matt Dathan Home Affairs Editor
Steven Swinford Political Editor
Government officials working on the
scheme said that there have been
“matching failures” even after the
Ukrainian refugees have arrived on a
visa sponsored by a UK household.
Various reasons were given but some
have been caused by male hosts making
sexual advances towards female re-
fugees.
One woman in her twenties said that
she is trying to transfer to another host
after the man she matched with began
asking whether she had a boyfriend and
if she was ready for a relationship.
A friend posted on a Facebook group
that matches UK hosts with Ukrainian
refugees, saying: “She is scared as she
now wants to find another sponsor. She
is young and this guy said he was a
single man with a daughter but was ask-
ing her if she had a boyfriend and if she
was ready for a relationship. This is
worrying.”
A source in the Department for Lev-
elling Up, Housing and Communities,
which is in charge of the scheme, said:
“We’ve seen several cases where the
host and refugee match has failed
already. They’ve made the journey here
but the relationship has fallen apart.”
They were unable to give a figure forapart to such a significant effect that
they have to move out.”
The department said that in the
event of a breakdown between sponsor
and refugee, the relevant parties should
raise concerns with the local council,
which would provide support. The
department added that each refugee is
given a welcome pack with details on
what to do if a match falls apart.
The government gives councils
£10,500 for each refugee resettled in
their area, which is designed to help
them find temporary accommodation
until a replacement host is found.
The Local Government Association,
which represents councils, also said
that it had found dozens of Ukrainian
refugees looking for new sponsors after
their initial match had collapsed. But it
said that there was no system for arriv-
als to be put back on the sponsor data-
base locally that would enable another
host to offer to accommodate them.
The LGA also said councils needed
better and quicker information from
the government about matches locally
so they can complete pre-arrival checks
to help prevent matches collapsing due
to inappropriate hosts or properties.
James Jamieson, LGA chairman, said:“If councils knew who sponsors were
now, before they had matched with
someone, they could carry out all the
checks before it got to the point where
you are moving people out.”
Enver Solomon, chief executive of
the Refugee Council, said that the gov-
ernment needed to provide support to
hosts and refugees as it was inevitable
that some arrangements will not work.
He said: “Sponsoring a refugee can be
a rewarding experience and a huge
commitment. While it’s heart-warming
that so many people have signed up to
help, we should be realistic about the
challenges involved on both sides in
making this arrangement a success.
“The relationship between a host and
a refugee comes with risks and respon-
sibilities. Inevitably, things may not al-
ways work out. That’s why it’s so impor-
tant that hosts and refugees are provid-
ed with the right training and specialist
support to make a success of this
potentially challenging relationship.
“Professionals need to be on hand
[with advice and help] including thera-
py, access to services and support with
integration — and to step in [if] this
arrangement doesn’t work out.”
Visa ‘circles of hell’, letters, page 30A refugee in Poland, which has asked
Britain to provide more financial helpArtists said their
“lake of blood”
was to remind
people not to
remain neutral