9. Statement by the Minister for Social Justice: Update on Ukraine

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:23 pm on 22 November 2022.

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Photo of Jane Hutt Jane Hutt Labour 5:23, 22 November 2022

Thank you very much, Mark Isherwood, and thank you for welcoming this statement. Your first point, of course, is about how we are progressing with our supersponsor scheme. I’m very pleased to say that we’re working hard welcoming Ukrainian guests into our welcome centres, but also we’re ensuring that people are moved on as quickly as possible from the welcome centres, with the help of local authorities and indeed third sector organisations as well. It’s the sort of initial accommodation that means that they get wraparound support in our welcome centres. But actually, as arrival trends have decreased in recent months, we’ve consolidated which hotels and welcome centres are the most appropriate. We’re reviewing the support we’re offering to promote personal independence.

I visited a welcome centre in north Wales where people were self catering, which is what people like to do and have more independence. We don’t publish the location of our welcome centres, but we have learnt a great deal as a result of working with our Ukrainian guests and local authorities. One of the interesting things—and you will know this, all of you, from around Wales in your constituencies—is that, actually, many Ukrainians are now working in the system. They’re working in local authorities. I certainly know in my constituency, they’ve got jobs, because they’ve got skills. It's wonderful when you go to a welcome centre or meet with a local authority and you've immediately got interpreters, you've got people who are working on Communities for Work, job opportunities. So, the welcome centre route is working, and we do seek to ensure that we can support the guests with the best wraparound support.