Item 6 is a statement by the Minister for Social Justice on the Ukraine humanitarian response. I call on the Minister, Jane Hutt. 

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I'm pleased to provide an update to Members about our ongoing work to support people from Ukraine seeking sanctuary in Wales.

Wales has now welcomed just over 6,400 Ukrainians under Homes for Ukraine. Almost 3,400 have been sponsored by Welsh households, with just over 3,000 sponsored by the Welsh Government by 7 February. Over 1,300 of those Welsh Government has sponsored have now moved into longer term accommodation. There have been additional arrivals under the Ukraine family scheme, but we're not given that data by the UK Government. The total number of granted visas has not grown very much in 2023 so far. Around 8,750 visas have now been granted to those with sponsors in Wales, and there remain around 1,500 individuals with visas who are yet to travel, and we remain mindful that events in Ukraine can have a direct impact on the number of Ukrainians who may arrive in Wales.

On 31 January, my Scottish counterpart and I met with UK Minister Felicity Buchan to talk about issues affecting our Ukraine response. During my last statement, I outlined the financial issues that I would be raising, and these were discussed with Minister Buchan. Unfortunately, our requests for changes that we believe would support public services and services for vulnerable new arrivals were heard but not progressed. Since our meeting with Minister Buchan, our Minister for Finance and Local Government raised similar matters with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, including the need for the UK Government to raise the local housing allowance, but no indication of a change of approach was forthcoming. But we're still working with the UK Government to ascertain what proportion of the new £150 million fund for Ukrainian housing support during 2023-24 will come to Wales. We've put forward a proposal and we've been clear that clarity is needed urgently to enable local authorities to plan sufficiently.

This leaves us and local authorities in a difficult budgetary position, lacking the clarity we need to most effectively deliver our humanitarian response. Nevertheless, we are working with local authorities and partners to consider how best we use the £40 million we have put in the Welsh Government budget for 2023-24. This will support move-on to longer term accommodation, including hosts, and support integration within our communities.

We are currently developing a communications package to encourage further recruitment of Welsh households as hosts for those arriving or remaining in Wales. The UK Government decision to only uplift host 'thank you' payments to £500 after a guest has been in the UK for 12 months means many will struggle with bills when they need help most. However, one positive aspect of the UK Government's funding changes was the extension of the host 'thank you' payments for our guests' second year in the UK. We will raise awareness of this change to retain hosts. We will seek to increase activity in the spring to find those who may be able to support us in this endeavour. As ever, interested hosts can go to gov.wales/offerhome to learn more and register their interest. We're particularly looking for hosts who can support large families, those with pets, or single men.

I've been providing these update statements for many months, but it is still barely believable that we're already approaching the anniversary of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. We know that some Ukrainians here in Wales, including those who sought sanctuary years ago, see 2014 as the start of the current invasion. I think it's important we remember that, even as we reflect upon the anniversary of the invasion intensifying.

This anniversary is a grim milestone and a tragic reminder of why we're doing everything we are doing here in Wales. We are unwavering in our support for those we have welcomed over the last year, the Ukrainian community members who already call Wales home, and those fighting in Ukraine. We are a nation of sanctuary, and I know all sides of this Siambr would agree with me in sending a message of hope, solidarity and respect. The people of Wales have demonstrated beyond doubt that we are a compassionate people, providing amazing support despite huge upheaval through the cost-of-living crisis.

We'll mark the anniversary between the 24 February and 27 February. On the anniversary itself, the Senedd is in recess, but we're working on plans with the UK Government to ensure that the anniversary is marked appropriately. On 25 February, we will welcome Kenneth Nowakowski, Bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of the Holy Family of London, to Wales, who will join the Archbishop of Cardiff at a live-streamed candlelight ecumenical prayer service. This will be a mass for peace, and it will be held at 8 p.m. on Saturday 25 February in Cardiff metropolitan cathedral, and I will be attending. And then, on Sunday 26 February at 3 p.m., a divine liturgy will also be held at St Peter’s in Cardiff, attended by the Counsel General.

Finally, we are hosting an event at the Senedd on 27 February. We have invited those from all sectors who have reached out and helped people from Ukraine in this past year. I'm looking forward to meeting host families from throughout Wales and their guests. It will be a day of reflection, a day to remember the past and to look to the future.   

Our support for Ukrainians and all sanctuary seekers in Wales will endure far beyond this anniversary. Those who find sanctuary in Wales contribute to our communities, our economy and our sense of who we are as a nation. As President Zelenskyy remarked in his recent address to the UK Houses of Parliament,

'it is in our power to guarantee with words and deeds that the light side of human nature will prevail. The side you and us share. And this stands above anything else.'

Diolch.

As you reflected, 24 February marks a year since Putin's illegal and barbaric invasion of Ukraine. In your update on Ukraine here three weeks ago, you stated that:

'The UK Government has announced that there will be a new UK £150 million fund for Ukrainian housing support during 2023-24, but details are currently scant',  where the UK Government had announced a new support package for Ukrainians of over £650 million, including an increase in payments to £500 per month to Homes for Ukraine hosts.

In response to me, you also stated that you had met Felicity Buchan, the UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing and Homelessness, together with the Scottish Government's Minister for refugees, before Christmas and that you had a further meeting scheduled with Felicity Buchan the following week. In your statement today you referred to that meeting, confirmed that these issues were discussed, and that you put forward a proposal. What was this proposal? And what, if any, indicative timescales were given to you for a response?

Although the Welsh Government's supersponsor scheme was temporarily paused on 10 June 2022, what is the current position with this, where, as you've indicated, 6,437 Ukrainians, sponsored by the Welsh Government and Welsh households as part of the Homes for Ukraine scheme, have arrived in Wales and almost half of the refugees in Wales are sponsored by the Welsh Government's supersponsor scheme?

It is reported that many Ukrainian refugees in Wales have spoken to the media about the difficulties that many of them are having finding and maintaining housing accommodation. For example, Ukrainian refugees who've had to leave their sponsor homes have been told that welcome centres aren't an option for safe accommodation, and landlords appear reluctant to take on refugee tenants due to concerns over stability of future earnings. I'm quoting here from newspaper articles, and therefore I don't know how secure the progeny of those stories is. But, responding to you three weeks ago, I also referred to the case of the mum and daughter who fled fighting in Ukraine but now face homelessness as their Welsh sponsor pulls out, who can't afford private rent and who fear they could end up on the streets.

I further noted that the Irish Government has announced that it would be delivering 700 modular homes for Ukrainian refugees this year, including 200 accommodating 800 Ukrainian refugees, built by Easter, as it scrambles to find housing. Given that Wales has a long-standing affordable housing supply crisis, will the Welsh Government be considering this option alone or with the UK Government? And if so, what is it currently doing about it?

I again referred in my response to you three weeks ago to the help being provided for Ukrainian refugees by Wrexham's Polish integration support centre, and your then forthcoming visit, which I attended, to the north Wales Ukraine response by charity Link International, and to the response to the invasion of Ukraine by the Catholic Bishops Conference for England and Wales. Last Friday, I visited a primary school in Denbighshire with my colleague Laura Anne Jones, shadow education Minister, when the headteacher referred to their Ukrainian pupils, whose families were supported and housed locally by the Red Cross. I'm also an honorary of Flint and Holywell rotary club and, over the last 12 months, rotary clubs have donated over £6 million in cash and kind and given more than 100,000 volunteer hours supporting Ukraine and its people.

Finally, therefore, will you provide an update on how you're ensuring that all these wider contributions are integrated into the Welsh Government's Ukraine humanitarian response?

Thank you very much, Mark Isherwood, and can I say I absolutely agree with your opening comments about the barbaric, as you say, invasion? And we are, of course, now, facing a year where we all stood together in this Chamber to acknowledge this and to pledge ourselves to respond in the humanitarian way that we do believe is right and just as a nation of sanctuary. We have worked very closely, I would say, over the past year, with the UK Government, and with Scottish colleagues as well—Scottish Government. Both the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government agreed and decided to develop the supersponsor route, which meant that those who were fleeing the invasion could come to Wales and go straight into initial accommodation and that we would support them with our funding that was being made available by the Welsh Government during this financial year, and of course, as I've said, we have in the draft budget the £40 million for the next financial year. Inter-governmental relations, therefore, have been important in terms of the way that we've worked together to move forward, but also to provide evidence that the route that we've taken with our supersponsor scheme has been beneficial in terms of the initial accommodation that we've provided through our welcome centres.

I think it is important to say that we have been working very hard with our local authorities, not only to support people in initial accommodation, but then, all importantly, to help them to move on. But just to recognise that we have been providing comprehensive support for particularly the first few weeks of Ukrainians arriving in Wales. We call this the welcome phase. It does obviously mean that we can then work with local authorities in terms of getting access to schools, translation services, health services, and English for speakers of other languages, and then to support arrivals into longer term accommodation.

Yes, as I said, the £150 million, we await the response from the UK Government as to how that's going to be allocated. We worked with the Scottish Government in terms of finding a way forward to make sure there was a fair, proportionate allocation of funding, and we await to hear the response from the UK Government to our proposals.

But it is very much linked to our framework of accommodation, which is the other point that you make, and I'll just focus on that in terms of concluding my response to your questions, because the move-on accommodation is crucial, and that's working with local authorities. We have a framework for accommodation in order to work with them. It has a formula and it provides support for local authorities, working with the Welsh Local Government Association, to look at ways we can help all those in temporary housing need in Wales.

In terms of securing longer term accommodation, which is why we want to access the £150 million, it's a mixture of accommodation; individual hosting, as I've said in the statement; the private rented sector; and also other forms of good-quality transitional accommodation. This is actually where we can share what we're doing in Wales with UK Government and Scottish Government. The transitional accommodation capital programme, which was £65 million at this financial year, we're actually increasing that to £89 million with support from Plaid Cymru. We've got these wider housing pressures, and we are looking to see that transitional accommodation capital programme delivering a range of initiatives, including, of course, ways in which we can support good-quality housing, opening up empty housing, and also ensuring that we can have the modular accommodation that can be provided at pace and at cost, and that it can be then used as a transitional capital programme into the next financial year.

I think it is important, just for the record again, to say that over 1,300 have now moved on into longer term accommodation—over 800 of those settling within Wales—and of our supersponsor arrivals, almost 1,100 have moved on into longer term accommodation. And also to recognise, of course, that these are all members of our communities, many of whom are working, integrating, and you will know them all across Wales.

Can I just say how much I appreciated visiting the Polish integration support centre in Wrexham with you? You've raised this on a number of occasion. But also, in north Wales, meeting Link International, and meeting with all the third sector organisations who've been supporting Ukrainian guests throughout the whole of Wales. They've all been invited to come to the Senedd on 27 February, as you have as well, and I hope that they will all be able to join us, because they have played a crucial role. And don't forget that we've been funding the third sector organisations—the British Red Cross, Asylum Justice, Housing Justice Cymru—all of them, and the Welsh Refugee Council, to help them with the resettlement of our Ukrainian guests.

As we approach the anniversary—the grim milestone, as you called it—of the illegal and barbaric invasion of Ukraine, I want to echo your thanks to people all over Wales who have provided sanctuary to people from Ukraine. When we in Wales say, 'Refugees are welcome', when we declare ourselves a nation of sanctuary, when our Government declares itself a supersponsor to aid those forced to flee their homes, it counts. And the language used by those in Government counts. And I'm so glad that we in Wales use different language to that of the Westminster Government—in all senses different. 

We are a nation of sanctuary.

Minister, do you agree that the terms used by those in power when discussing refugees especially and all those marginalised in our society count, because language has consequences? And we saw this in Knowsley this weekend—despicable and potentially terrible consequences. One hundred organisations have signed an open letter to call on all political leaders to condemn Friday's attack on refugees. Has the Welsh Government voiced its concern to the UK Government that hostile words lead to hostile actions?

Our support in Wales over the past year for Ukrainian refugees has shown how responding to need in times of extreme crisis can be an opportunity to bring out the best, not the worst, in society. Many of us have seen examples first-hand how refugees enrich our communities. I met Iryna last week, a graduate of Kyiv university, who came to Wales through the supersponsor scheme and stayed at the welcome centre in Llangrannog. She is now working at Power and Water in Swansea and is at the forefront of that company's groundbreaking work in the field of the chemical-free treatment of waste water. Iryna was fortunate that the company helped find and fund her accommodation initially, so that she could take up that job. Many of her fellow refugees, of course, aren't so lucky, and we know, as you've alluded to, that the pressures on housing are immense. 

As Mark Isherwood noted, WalesOnline has published accounts of Ukrainian refugees and sponsors who have struggled with the system in place to accommodate them, with refugees being expected to live in short-term accommodation for long-term periods and being almost rightless tenants under landlord sponsors, to sponsors feeling that they're lacking support during the cost-of-living crisis. Could you please comment on what potential issues with the supersponsor and the other sponsor schemes were identified by Welsh Government at the start of their implementation, and so what preventative measures were put in place? And is it possible for the Minister to confirm the number of settling Ukrainian households, particularly from the current welcoming centres and hotels that each local authority will be expected to welcome, in order that authorities' preparations can be further firmed up by the way of support and integration into local communities?

Cymorth Cymru conducted a survey with 650 front-line workers and held meetings with 68 homelessness and housing support workers across Wales to find out how the cost of living is affecting their lives and their jobs. The impact of the cost-of-living crisis and people's fears for the future were widespread, affecting not just their finances but their mental health and their ability to do their job. They talked extensively about the impact on their mental health, referencing anxiety, having to take time off work, concerns about increasing workload due to people leaving the sector and, of course, increased demand. And of course, during the last year, the cost-of-living crisis has deepened considerably. Cymorth Cymru recently raised concerns about the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on front-line homelessness and housing support workers and their families. These workers are facing significant stresses in their jobs due to the crisis, and they will now be facing even more added pressures as they try to protect Ukrainian refugees here in Wales from homelessness and assist them with accommodation. So, has the Welsh Government conducted any assessment as to how changes in support for Ukrainian refugees here in Wales will be affecting our already stretched services? How are they working alongside these services to ensure they are getting the support they need to be able to best support vulnerable refugees here in Wales? Diolch.

Diolch, Sioned Williams, and thank you very much for, again, expressing the importance of our welcome, that refugees are welcomed to Wales. As you say, it's a grim milestone that we’ve reached, but we will also be measured about that welcome and the strength and the depth of that welcome. We can see it’s so strong in terms of the way people across Wales, in all communities, have responded, and the way that local authorities have worked together with us in Welsh Government and with all the third sector, as I've responded to Mark Isherwood.

And also to say that this always, in terms of our responsibilities as a Welsh Government, has to go way beyond our powers—way beyond. I mean, immigration is a matter reserved by the UK Government, but we will use all our powers to support sanctuary seekers arriving in Wales, and we believe that the actions that we are taking and we've taken with our supersponsor scheme are essential in tackling inequalities faced by sanctuary seekers, supporting them as they settle in Wales, building cohesive communities. There’s been an outpouring of support that we've seen, including thousands of Welsh households hosting and supporting Ukrainians directly.

It is important that we look at issues in terms of—. That is where the Welsh Government stands, but I very much endorse the views of the 100 organisations who have condemned hostile words. This is no place for a hostile environment, and whenever we have the opportunity, we as Ministers are making it very clear where we stand and how we oppose the hostile environment and hostile words, which can have an impact on the sort of community cohesion in our nation of sanctuary that we endorse and espouse.

So, it is, I think, very important that we look at what lessons we've learned in terms of health and support, and in handling the perhaps greater needs of some who’ve come forward with huge issues in terms of mental health, the impact, the trauma of people, and mainly women, of course, coming from Ukraine. We've also made sure that we can therefore make sure that the health service is fully engaged. We've got a Cardiff and Vale inclusion service, for example, which is now looking at complex health assessment needs, but in terms of mental health as well. This is something where those fleeing the war need to get in touch with our contact centres and the welcome centres. They may have experienced extreme trauma. This is where Public Health Wales, New Pathways, were developing packages of support for staff, also to ensure they can give mental health support.

The impact of the cost of living has been profound on our Welsh communities and people, especially many who have protected characteristics who are already facing inequalities. It is wonderful that, actually, many of the communities experiencing the tougher socioeconomic impacts of the cost of living are still supporting the guests who are coming into their communities. I'm very concerned that the tariff for local authorities has been reduced for those who are going to arrive in 2023. For the last year, it was a £10,500 tariff. It’s being reduced by the UK Government to £5,900. Also, we believe, as I said in my statement, and I'll say it again: that £350 per month thank-you payment for hosts who accommodated, well, we think that everyone who has been a host and continues to be a host should be paid the £500, because this is about enabling them to continue to support in the cost-of-living crisis.

I'm grateful to the Minister for the way in which she's responded to this statement this afternoon. Language and tone in politics is fundamental to our debate and it talks about the values that we all share, and I think the way in which people in Wales have reached out to Ukraine, recognising the catastrophic impact of the invasion on people's lives, I think demonstrates that people in communities up and down this country want this Government to continue to reach out to support people in Ukraine.

I also want to thank the Counsel General for his leadership. Of course, he comes from a Ukrainian background, rooted in communities in Ukraine, and has built links between Wales and Ukraine over many decades, but has also used the power of his oratory and his experience in the last year to motivate and to help people with this support. And I think, as a Parliament, we should acknowledge the work that Mick Antoniw has done over recent months.

Can I ask the Minister, in responding to the statement today, that we will continue to support Ukrainian families and people who will come here because of the dangers facing them at home, and we will continue to do that in the profound, comprehensive and holistic way that she's described? But we also need to help people in Ukraine, and that means ensuring that we contribute internationally to what we're able to do in terms of maintaining infrastructure. When we were there in December, one of the things that was very striking was the impact of Putin's war machine on the energy infrastructure, for example, in Ukraine, and anything that the Welsh Government can do to contribute to that wider international effort, I think, would be important. And a final point—

Alun, I've given you a lot of time.

You have, and you're very generous. The final—

But not much more generous.

The final point I'll make is that we do also need to provide the means by which Ukraine can fight Putin and Putin's war machine, and that means also supporting manufacturers in Wales who are able to produce weapons and ammunition to enable the Ukrainian army to withstand Russia's war machine. We do have manufacturers in the arms industry in Wales, and it would be good if the Welsh Government could do everything it can to ensure that the output from these businesses is able to support and to sustain the Ukrainians fighting for the future of their country and all of our democracies.

Diolch yn fawr, Alun Davies. I'll just briefly respond, Dirprwy Lywydd, to say how important it is that we can be held to account for our language, for our tone, for our delivery of that humanitarian response. It was very good that we were out on the steps together, cross-party, to wish you well and the Counsel General, Mick Antoniw, who has led us, hasn't he, in this Chamber. He's led us in our understanding, led us in Government and, I believe, in the Senedd, to understand how we can best and most appropriately respond to reach out and to support Ukraine—people in Ukraine as well as those Ukrainians who come and live amongst us. He's come to many of our meetings that we've had in constituencies, he's communicated, and we want to thank the Counsel General, who is here today, who will be leading your next mission, I would call it, the journey out, leaving on Thursday, with our support, I think, across this Chamber.

I just have to say that the Welsh Government will do everything that we can to respond to the points that you've made today, Alun Davies, and also to recognise that we can help people in Ukraine. We can have that international role, can't we, as a Welsh Government and the people of Wales. We've really raised our understanding of what that would mean with the visit of President Zelenskyy last week. It permeated to us here in Wales. Of course, over the next weekend, I hope Members will join us as we acknowledge through serious prayer and recognition and also through the event we have here in the Senedd. Diolch.

I thank the Minister.

Following the request by the Deputy Minister for Climate Change this afternoon during his contribution in item 3 regarding the use of the term 'insane' during a question that was presented to him, I have reviewed the transcript, and concluded that although the reference was to a decision by the Welsh Government, and not any individual, this does not make it appropriate. As Members of the Senedd, all of us, including myself, have a responsibility to ensure that what we say in this place and elsewhere in our role as Members is appropriate and cannot be considered otherwise. I'm sure the Member in this case will reflect upon the contribution today and ensure that future contributions, whether here or outside this place, will be considered respectful to all.