Issue - meetings

This report sets out the city’s response to welcoming Ukrainian refugees to the city. 

Resolved:

(i)    That the actions currently being taken be noted.

(ii)   That the initial funding to City of Sanctuary, set out in paragraph 16 of the report, be agreed.

(iii) That the grant arrangements, set out in paragraph 23 of the report, be agreed.

(iv) That the arrangements with Migration Yorkshire, as set out in paragraph 29 of the report, be agreed.

Reason:  To provide an effective and coordinated welcome to Ukrainians arriving in York

The Executive Member considered a report that set out the city’s response to welcoming Ukrainian refugees to the city.

The Assistant Director of Customer and Communities provided an overview and in response to the speakers’ comments, he stated that:

·        29 Ukrainian guests had arrived in York and numbers were slowly beginning to increase, following a delay with the visa applications.

·        The Government matched Sponsors to Guests, Local Authorities (LA) were not involved in this process.

·        It was the LA’s responsibility to ensure property and DBS checks had taken place and that safeguarding checks continued, to monitor the success of the placements.

·        Officers would continue to consult with Guests, to monitor their well-being and safety.

·        The funding available would directly support the Guests well-being and their integration into life in York. The funding would also be used to employ additional staff to respond to the needs of the Guests and Sponsors.

·        Although some expenditure maybe required rapidly, there would be full transparency on how the funding had been used. 

The Executive Member noted that Guests had started to arrive in York over the last 10 days and officers were responding in a flexible and person-centred way to ensure the individual needs of each Guest were met.  In answer to questions raised, it was noted that the ‘thank you’ payments were made at the end of the first month and a schedule had been created to ensure all Sponsors received the payment.

The Executive Member referenced the challenges highlighted within the annex to the report regarding using hotels as initial accommodation sites for asylum seekers and he noted how heart-warming the response was from York residents to support people coming from the Ukraine to the city. He commended all those that had been involved in the scheme.

The Executive Member also expressed his appreciation to those that had registered to be a Sponsor on the Homes for Ukraine Scheme. He thanked officers for the report and welcomed Ukrainian refugees to the city.

Resolved:

(i)    That the actions currently being taken be noted.

(ii)   That the initial funding to City of Sanctuary, set out in paragraph 16 of the report, be agreed.

(iii) That the grant arrangements, set out in paragraph 23 of the report, be agreed.

(iv) That the arrangements with Migration Yorkshire, as set out in paragraph 29 of the report, be agreed.

Reason:  To provide an effective and coordinated welcome to Ukrainians arriving in York