Having last month highlighted in the Senedd the humanitarian efforts to help Ukrainian refugees by the Polish Integration Support Centre in Wrexham, Shadow Social Justice Minister and North Wales MS Mark Isherwood has today asked the Social Justice Minister what engagement the Welsh Government has had with the Centre over their proposals.
Mr Isherwood, raised the matter when responding to today’s ‘Update on Ukraine’ Statement by the Minister in the Senedd Chamber.
He also again raised the need for an uplift in the payments made to hosts of Ukrainian refugees.
He said:
“Responding to your Update on Ukraine Statement here 4 weeks ago, I referred to the document that I had sent to you ‘produced by the Polish Integration Support Centre, or PISC, in Wrexham, detailing their humanitarian efforts to help Ukrainian refugees and a proposal for consolidated and sustainable support for Ukrainian people, including construction of temporary housing’.
“What engagement have you or your officials therefore subsequently had with them regarding this?
“I also asked what discussions you had had - or were planning to have - with the UK Government regarding a possible uplift to the monthly £350 payment to people hosting Ukrainians in their own homes. In your response, you said ‘the job certainly wasn’t done’ and’ referring to the joint letter regarding these matters you had sent with your Scottish Ministerial counterpart to the then new Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and to the then new Home Secretary, you stated that you would be ‘very interested to see what reply we get’. Thank you for subsequently copying me on this letter.
“What, if any, reply did you receive, and if, given events elsewhere, you have not yet received a reply, how will you be following up on this once Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announces his Cabinet?”
He added:
“In your reply to me, you stated that local leadership is crucially important in the provision of devolved services for which the Welsh Government is responsible, following my reference to, for example, the need for English for speakers of other languages, or ESOL, lessons, in person and online, and for action to support skill and qualification transferability.
“What update can you provide on these matters, given your response that you have fortnightly meeting on Ukraine, Chaired by the Minister for Finance and Local Government?”
Mr Isherwood also questioned the Minister over the current position regarding the “pause” to new applications for the Welsh Government’s Super Sponsor Scheme announced in June, given “the latest figures show that 4,833 Visa Applications by people from Ukraine have been submitted with the Welsh Government as a Super Sponsor, that 4,564 have been issued with the Welsh Government as a Super Sponsor, and that 2,904 of the people who have arrived in the UK have the Welsh Government as a Super Sponsor”.
Having previously referred the Minister to the role played by faith groups in the “Ukrainian Link Programme” to support Ukrainian’s arriving in North Wales, Mr Isherwood also asked the Minister what engagement she has had with the Catholic Community “regarding its response to the illegal and inhumane invasion of Ukraine”.