Tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees to be welcomed into British homes

Tens of thousands of Ukrainians will soon begin their passage to the UK, Michael Gove said, as he unveiled a scheme to bring in refugees with no family ties to Britain.

Britons will today be able to register with the government to have Ukrainian individuals or families stay with them, or at a separate property they own. The scheme will require people to name the Ukrainians they want to bring into the UK and the government is relying on individuals and community groups to match up with Ukrainians themselves.

The housing secretary said that the government would be acting “in solidarity and co-operation” with “generous-hearted” Britons. The government will pay £350 a month to those who provide a home or spare room rent-free, with a minimum commitment of six months. The Ukrainians will be granted three years’ leave to remain, the right to work and access to all public services and most benefits.

Ukrainian applicants will still have to pass security checks before being authorised to come to the UK and those offering accommodation will be vetted.

Asked how many people the scheme would bring to the country, Gove said: “Tens of thousands.” The UK has so far granted just over 3,000 visas to Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion.

Britain has brought 21 Ukrainian children with cancer into the country for treatment, the government said last night. The children and immediate family arrived from Poland and are being assessed by NHS doctors before being sent to hospitals across England. Treatment will be given free.

Gove said he hoped to offer refuge to a Ukrainian himself under the spare room scheme. Asked if he would, he told the BBC: “Yes. I’m exploring what I can do. I know that there are others who have. Without going into my personal circumstances, there are a couple of things I need to sort out, but yes.”

Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, said that he would “of course” take in a refugee because “we’re a very welcoming nation”.

Gove faced questions about whether the requirement for refugees to be identified by people wanting to take them in would limit the numbers. Lisa Nandy, who shadows him, said: “We welcome this scheme but urgently need more detail. Are we really asking desperate Ukrainians and British sponsors to find each other online, dating app-style?”

Gove defended his approach on the basis that the government was slow and bureaucratic. He told Sky News: “We know there are charities, and we’re working with them, that are helping to identify people on the ground and helping to identify people here to create that matching process. So, rather than it being simply government on its own, we wanted to make sure that they all have individual protections and the good heartedness of those who are supporting charities can help here. We know, for example, there will be churches and faith groups. We know there will be Jewish groups. We know there will be groups like Stonewall and others that will be doing everything they can to identify individuals who can benefit and individuals who want to help.”

Robert Jenrick, Gove’s predecessor, backed the announcement, saying that it was a very sensible scheme, although he told Times Radio that it “remains to be seen how easy” the matching process would be.

Caroline Nokes, the Conservative former immigration minister and chairwoman of the Commons women and equalities committee, said the “sad, stark reality” was that the people offering refuge needed to be checked.

“We don’t want [refugees] falling into the hands of human traffickers and modern slavery,” she said. “These are vulnerable, largely women and children, and so it’s absolutely imperative that there are systems in place so that they’re properly supported. It is imperative that all these brilliant people who are contacting me and contacting charities offering up their homes, they do need to be checked. That’s a sad, stark reality but that has to happen quickly. They can’t get lost in whatever part of the system does the DBS checks.”

Micheal Martin, Ireland’s prime minister, defended his country’s decision to waive visa requirements, meaning that more than 5,000 Ukrainian refugees had arrived in the country without checks. “The humanitarian response trumps anything as far as we’re concerned,” he said. “But our security people will keep on monitoring the situation in terms of what’s on. We can all see the humanitarian crisis. We do know that that can be exploited by certain bad actors, but our security personnel will keep an eye on that in a more general way.”

Benedict Cumberbatch hopes to take refugees into his home in Dartmouth Park, north London, as part of the scheme, he told Sky News from the Baftas red carpet in London last night. The Oscar-winning actor said: “Everyone needs to do as much as they can.”

The government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme opens today. Initially, sponsors in Britain will be able to nominate a named Ukrainian individual or family to stay with them rent-free in a spare room or property.

Sponsors will be paid £350 a month and must make an initial commitment of at least six months. They will be subject to rapid safeguarding checks, although it is not clear how robust. The Ukrainians will be subject to security checks, and it is hoped that the first refugees will arrive under the scheme within a week, although there are concerns that that process is still too onerous to get Ukrainians into the country quickly.

In a second phase, community groups, charities and religious organisations will be able to sponsor Ukrainians in the same way.

The Ukrainians will be granted three years’ leave to remain, the right to work, access to all public services and to most benefits, although not to housing benefit.

Local authorities will be given £10,000 for each refugee settled in their area.