x
By using this website, you agree to our use of cookies to enhance your experience.


TODAY'S OTHER NEWS

Former Housing Secretary becomes first MP to welcome Ukrainian refugees

Former Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick is believed to have become the first MP to take in Ukrainian refugees under the government’s settlement scheme.

The government launched the Homes for Ukraine Scheme in early March for British homeowners to apply to host Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian invasion.

Jenrick, MP for Newark, revealed over the Bank Holiday weekend that his family had taken in 40-year-old Maria and her two children Christina, 11, and Boden, 15.

Advertisement

He told the Daily Telegraph’s Chopper’s Politics Podcast that the process was "overly bureaucratic.”

He says: "There were simple things that we could and should have done from the outset, like having the form in Ukrainian, for example.

"Truth be told it has been a bumpy start to the scheme. It's taken too long to get visas, for us it took about three weeks to get all three visas approved."

The scheme has been criticised for its slow rollout.

Government data shows that 25,100 visas were approved as of last week from 55,600 applications while just 12.7% had arrived in the UK.

More than 200,000 homeowners are reported to have applied to host Ukrainian refugees.

The scheme is open to anyone with a room or home available for at least six months.

Hosts are vetted and Ukrainian refugees undergo security checks.

Read the full Daily Telegraph (behind a paywall for some) story here.

  • Algarve  Investor

    Fair play, and doing more than most in the government, but hasn't he got about six houses? Which might make it a bit easier to step up.

    Interesting to see him be pretty critical of the government here, having previously been a Johnson acolyte. Perhaps getting sacked has taught him that BoJo wouldn't know what loyalty or decency was if it smacked him in the face.

    icon

    zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

     
icon

Please login to comment

MovePal MovePal MovePal
sign up