Many of the refugees who have come to Britain to join relatives after fleeing the war are affected, say organizations working to help them, with hundreds having registered as homeless due to poor living conditions. It comes amid allegations that the Interior Ministry’s family plan in Ukraine is “half-baked”, with a senior lawmaker calling the situation a “dysfunctional disaster” – while The Independent Refugee Campaign calls on the government to move faster and faster to to help Ukrainians leaving Country. Charities warn that the majority of those arriving down the road are overcrowded because their relatives in the UK do not have spare rooms and no checks are made on these properties prior to arrival. A survey conducted by the Greater London Authority on nine charities in the capital found that of the 83 Ukrainian clients in the family program seeking support, more than half (58 per cent) were in inadequate accommodation and almost one in five (17 percent) were in immediate danger of becoming homeless. Meanwhile, the government refuses to publish national data it maintains on the number of Ukrainians appearing on councils as homeless. The war has created millions of refugees (EPA) Andrei Savitsky, a service provider at the Center for Labor Rights, said more than half of the Ukrainian refugee-supported organization was overcrowded and that there would be thousands of national sponsors often living in homes that were “already almost suitable”. . . Described a case of a family of five from Ukraine, with a child with disabilities, all living in a bedroom in Nottinghamshire after the wife and children arrived in early April to reunite with their husband, who was already living in precarious conditions overnight. . shift delivery driver. “They have approached the council and said they need housing. “Someone from the council has come to the apartment and seen the conditions and said that it is not suitable, but their appointments for new housing have been postponed many times and they are still there,” he said. Government figures show that 16,000 have arrived under the Ukraine Family Program, which allows refugees to join relatives in the UK, while 11,100 have arrived under the Homes for Ukraine program – a separate route allowing refugees to live with volunteer hosts in the UK. Local authorities receive 10 10,500 in central government funding for each refugee under the Homes for Ukraine program, but do not receive money for those arriving by family route. Ukrainians of all ages have fled the country during Putin’s invasion (AP) There are growing calls for funding for councils to support those arriving under the family program and for the government to allow refugees under this program to access the Homes for Ukraine route. Tatiana Miller, 44, who lives in Wokingham, said her mother, sister and her sister’s two children arrived under the family route in mid-April. But they returned to Poland – where they had taken refuge after the invasion – two weeks later, because living conditions were too full in the UK. “It simply came to our notice then. We did what we could, but on arrival it became apparent that it was not viable. “They returned to Poland even though they do not know anyone there,” he told the Independent. Tatiana Miller’s mother (left), her nieces (middle and bottom right) and her sister came to reunite with her and her daughters (also pictured) as part of the family program, but had to return to Poland because living conditions were very crowded (Tatiana Miller) “The family plan is unfair. We did not receive any financial support, as sponsors in the other program do. The government seems to be on another planet. There is a desire to help, but they give with one hand and remove with the other. It is half cooked. It’s heartless and thoughtless. “ Svitlana Opanasenko, a volunteer at the Social Club of Ukraine, said that of the approximately 200 households in the family program supported by the charity since early March, between 90-95 percent live in overcrowded conditions. He said at least a dozen of the families supporting him were forced to leave their relatives’ homes and register as homeless with the local council because the situation was unsustainable or because their owners ordered them to leave due to overcrowding. Hundreds of Ukrainian refugees in the UK have been registered as homeless due to poor living conditions (AP) “Families desperately want to get their relatives out of Ukraine and do not look at the square footage of their apartments. They are just trying to get everyone inside. “People have nowhere else to go,” he said. Ms Opanasenko added that refugees were also finding it difficult to access financial support and had to rely on food banks, adding: “We refer most of them for universal credit, but it takes time. You need to register, prove your address, get a bank card and then wait a month. “People are desperate. Most families have young children, so they need baby food, diapers. These are expensive, as are foods in general. They do not receive information on how to get support. “ A council survey by the Local Government Union last month revealed that 144 Ukrainian households had been reported homeless to 190 local authorities since the start of the war. The government has since conducted its own investigation, but has refused to release the findings. A spokesman said it was “collecting this information for monitoring purposes and to help us determine if a local authority needs additional support”. Clive Betts, Labor MP and chairman of the House, Housing and Communities Committee, said the plan was a “malfunctioning disaster”, adding: “Local authorities need to know how many refugees are here, what services they need. It’s information that must be public. “ He added that it was “ridiculous” that the councils do not receive funding for refugees in the family program and said that in cases where families should be presented as homeless they should be allowed to go to the Homes for Ukraine program. Jon Featonby, director of policy and defense at the British Red Cross, said it was wrong not to provide the same amount of support under the family plan than the other route. “We would like to see families receive the support they need regardless of the program they have reached, including providing sponsors and refugees with the same level of financial support and funding to local authorities as they need to ensure adequate housing.” he said. A government spokesman said: “These programs are designed to ensure that people coming to the UK and fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine are provided with accommodation by their family or sponsor. “Under both systems, councils have a duty to provide support when someone is homeless.” The criticism came as Interior Minister Priti Patel reportedly took legal action for delays that have left Ukrainian refugees at a dead end. Charities, including Save the Children and the Refugee Council, are preparing a class action lawsuit against hundreds of refugees who applied to travel to the UK weeks ago but are trapped in a visa issue, according to The Guardian.
