Officials are urgently investigating claims that Ukrainian refugees have ended up homeless after resorting to using Ireland as a back door into Britain to avoid stringent visa checks.
Yesterday, Boris Johnson defended his decision to require all Ukrainians to pass security checks before entering the UK, insisting there had been several cases of “people coming from that warzone who may not be entirely who they say they are”. The decision was criticised by Bill Wiggin, a senior Conservative MP, who contrasted the security checks on Ukrainian refugees with record numbers of migrants who are “turning up in rubber boats” across the Channel.
Quizzing the prime minister at the liaison committee yesterday, Wiggin said: “Why can’t we get the right people through our immigration system instead of the wrong ones?” Johnson insisted: “You’ve got to be careful.
In contrast, Micheál Martin, the Irish prime minister, has said his country would prioritise the humanitarian response over national security concerns.
But the Local Government Association said it believed Ireland’s visa-free route had led to Ukrainians using it as a back door into Britain and had subsequently led to refugees being left without accommodation.
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A survey of 190 councils across England by the LGA found that 144 Ukrainians had reported themselves as homeless since the war started on February 24. A third of them came through the Ukraine Family Scheme and 36 via the Homes for Ukraine scheme. It is unknown how the remaining 64 came.
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James Jamieson, chairman of the LGA, said: “We believe there is an element of people presenting as homeless because they are coming to Ireland and then, with the free movement, able to come to the UK.”
The department for levelling up, housing and communities (DLUHC) said it was urgently investigating the warnings. A spokesman said: “These schemes are designed to ensure that people who are coming to the UK fleeing the Russian invasion are provided with accommodation by their family or sponsor.
“Through Homes for Ukraine the government is giving councils £10,500 per person to provide support.”
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Home Office figures published yesterday revealed that the UK has granted 25,500 visas to Ukrainians since the war started — 42 per cent of the applications it has received. However, only 2,700 visas have been granted out of 28,300 applications under the Homes for Ukraine scheme. The figure represents just 1 per cent of the number of offers to accommodate Ukrainian refugees.
Ministers have set a new target to process 15,000 visas a week within a fortnight.
Priti Patel, the home secretary, admitted that the family route and the Homes for Ukraine scheme were “never perfect” but insisted Britain “should be proud” of the number of visas issued despite the delays.
Emma Haddad, head of asylum at DLUHC, told MPs yesterday that the schemes had been “very, very difficult” to set up in a short space of time, but said that the government was “ramping up” the processing of visas.
Meanwhile, officials also told the committee that hosts under the Homes for Ukraine scheme will receive their monthly £350 ‘thank you’ payments for sponsoring a refugee only once the local council has visited to check that their property meets safeguarding standards.
