East Riding Households Open Doors to Ukrainian Refugees

More than 100 East Riding households have offered to host Ukrainian refugees, according to council figures.

East Riding Council figures also put the number of Ukrainian refugees at at least 35, based on the amount of welcome payments given at the end of last week.

But a Council spokesperson said true number is higher as it continues to process payments and is not informed when Ukrainians arrive.

It comes as more than 5.37m Ukrainians have fled the country since Russian troops invaded in late February, according to UN data up to Wednesday, April 27.

A further 7.7m people have been internally displaced by the conflict and the UN estimates that the number of refugees could be as high as 8.3m by December.

Arrivals from the eastern European country are currently being resettled in the UK through two programmes, the Ukraine Family Scheme and the Ukrainian Sponsorship Scheme.

The latter is linked to the Homes for Ukraine programme where households can offer to host arrivals for six months, subject to them passing DBS checks and accommodation being deemed suitable.

East Riding councillors heard in March that County Hall officials had received hundreds of emails offering accommodation, many featuring pictures of bedrooms and bathrooms to see if they were suitable.

But council Equality Champion Jacob Birch told the Overview, Management and Scrutiny Committee the amount of offers was likely to be more than needed, meaning some would be turned down.

Cllr Birch said:

“A lot of people have offered their homes but the majority of arrivals want to live in cities, either because that’s what they’re used to or because they don’t need to have a car.

“Not everyone who’s offered to help will have that offer accepted, but it’s not because they’re unsuitable.”

About 72,000 visas have been issued to Ukrainian refugees to live and work in the UK since Russia launched its invasion.

The latest Government figures put the number of those settled at about 21,600, around 15,000 under the Ukraine Family Scheme and 6,600 under the Ukrainian Sponsorship Scheme.

The former scheme links arrivals with relatives from Ukraine already living in the UK.

The Government has faced criticism for the speed at which it is processing applications for visas and offers to house refugees, including from some families who wish to host them.

A Government spokesperson has said applications are being processed as quickly as possible and the Home Office has streamlined the system, with more staff brought in to help.

The UN’s Refugee Agency (UNHCR) stated in its update on the situation this week that it was the world’s fastest growing refugee crisis since the Second World War.

The Agency stated:

“Massive devastation in urban centres, and the destruction of civilian infrastructure, have made life unbearable for millions of people and severely disrupted critical services, especially healthcare.

“In besieged areas, people have lived for weeks without access to food, water, heat and electricity, while under the constant threat of bombardment.

“Millions of people, including women and small children, have been left without access to safe water or sanitation, drastically heightening the risk of water-borne disease as well as hydration.

“The situation for people forced to leave is severe as families are being torn apart and people are fleeing in fear and distress.

“Some 90 per cent of those fleeing Ukraine are women and children, so humanitarian partners are on high alert for increased risks of trafficking, gender-based violence and exploitation.”