Part of 3. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:19 pm on 23 March 2022.
Thank you very much for the questions, Mark Isherwood. As I've said and as has been made very clear in the information that we've provided on our bespoke page on the Welsh Government website about what we're doing to support Ukrainian refugees, we are due to become a supersponsor under the UK Government's Homes for Ukraine scheme this Friday. We wanted to make sure we were ready and able and prepared for that, to go live, and that, of course, is going to happen on Friday. But actually, we've been ready over the last weeks, certainly last weekend when the UK Government scheme went live, in case people came to us and needed us. We were ready and we had accommodation available. But the full scheme, as a supersponsor, with all the preparedness that has had to take place, commences on Friday.
I think it's important just for colleagues and for Members to know that this will initially involve up to 1,000 people actually skipping the need to identify a UK-based sponsor, and instead being sponsored directly by the Welsh Government. We won't be selecting those eligible to apply; people fleeing Ukraine will be able to select the Welsh Government from the system until our initial cap of refugees is met. As you know, we're opening welcome centres across Wales—and they are all across Wales—to ensure that all of those we're directly sponsoring can receive a high-quality welcome and are directly supported from the moment they arrive. And then, from the welcome centres, people will be moved into longer term accommodation across Wales.
There's a huge amount of work, 24/7, by local authorities, by our officials in the Welsh Government, the NHS and the third sector. I've had a really important meeting today with a range of Ukrainian community support, including the north Wales link that you drew to our attention, Mark, and many groups and Ukrainian voices who are going to actually also respond and help in the ways that were raised in terms of supporting children and young people in earlier questions to Lynne Neagle. So, it is all in place and it's all going to operate from Friday throughout Wales. It's going to be crucial that they just can come direct. The Welsh Government scheme will enable them to come direct to us for that support.
On the second question, the points you raised are reserved matters, but we can make representations on behalf of you and constituents to the UK Government. We're working very closely with the UK Government, clearly, in terms of all Ukrainian refugees who come to us. If it's the Homes for Ukraine scheme, and that direct matching, obviously, we are going to get the data from the UK Government to ensure that we can get everything in place. Can I just say one point that is important in terms of the arrangements? Quite a few people are coming through the family visa route. That might be the route, in fact, that your constituent has mentioned. We don't actually know yet—we've asked the Home Office—how many are coming through that route, but I suspect that may be where your constituent has come through. So, it is very valuable to have from Members today some of their experiences in terms of what is happening to them and to their constituents.