Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:02 pm on 17 May 2022.
Thank you very much, Mark Isherwood. You've repeated the data that I gave in the statement. I think it is very encouraging that, at long last, last week, the UK Government agreed to provide data on a local authority by local authority basis, and we could then identify, as you said, that 1,126 Ukrainian refugees have come via the Homes for Ukraine scheme—some of whom will be in our welcome centres, some with host sponsors. But, also recognising that there are still many more visas that have been approved. I said that in my statement as well—at least three times that number.
I meet with the Minister for Refugees, Lord Harrington, every fortnight. I met him on Thursday with my colleague Neil Gray, the Scottish Government Minister. We have three things on the agenda: we have visa delays, we have safeguarding, we have funding. We obviously add other things as well, as they come through. But they are very constructive meetings. And we have the evidence, I have much evidence, not just from my own casework but from many from across this Chamber, of these unacceptable delays between visa approval and arrival. So, that is the UK Government's responsibility and they have got to overcome it. But, progress is being made, as you will know, in terms of the numbers.
It's good that you had that briefing from the British Red Cross, particularly in relation to our role as a supersponsor. This is something where we've committed to supporting 1,000 people, skipping the need to identify an individual sponsor and being sponsored directly by the Welsh Government. And as of 10 May, we have got 1,317 visas that have been granted to Ukrainians—more than 1,000—under this route. So, we awaited 24/7, with weekend work—I mentioned Citizens UK Cymru—their arrival. We arranged the transport, working with Citizens UK Cymru, and at Luton Airport, the families arrived. It's tremendous when those partnerships work, but we have so much more to do to move that forward.
I think your point about safeguarding and the welcome centres, the work that we do, is crucial. When they get to the welcome centres, everyone's there to help support. Translation services are available. There are opportunities to start learning English—we've talked about ESOL—registration with GPs, children starting at school and help with money, welfare benefits and advice with finding work. All of this is on our sanctuary website. There's so much guidance and information constantly being updated. And safeguarding is crucial, as you know, and that's why welcome centres are the safest way to support Ukrainians fleeing conflict, rather than—. I've raised our concerns about any kind of route to informal social media matches. Obviously, the hosts, much of this is working very well with Homes for Ukraine, but it's important to look at our safeguarding and modern slavery guidance.
Finally, yes, this is a cross-Government issue. We have a weekly meeting—we've got one tomorrow morning—with ministerial colleagues. Education, health, local government, housing, we're all working—. Transport. We're all working together addressing these issues. I'm obviously co-ordinating this. You've mentioned that important case that I was very glad to respond to, Mark, as quickly as possible. These early days, local government—. I've praised local government for what they're doing. They are also getting guidance, they are managing it, admissions, and these are operational issues that we are working together on. I'm looking forward, with the Minister for Finance and Local Government, to meeting our new set of leaders very shortly to discuss. But, operationally, of course, we're working with chief executives.
And now, children. I had a wonderful message from a young refugee who's been waiting to get into school in my constituency, who messaged me personally last night to say, 'It is wonderful to feel I'm in school. I'm a teenager, I'm learning, it's wonderful.' This will happen to the children as they come through, and local government is committed to making that work.