Minutes:
Deputy
Mayor commented that our thoughts are with the Ukrainian people at this present
time and called upon the Leader of Council, Councillor E.V.Latham
to make a joint statement.
“At the last meeting of
Council, there was unanimous condemnation of the actions taken by Vladimir
Putin and the Russian Government but also unanimous support for the Ukraine
government and the people of Ukraine.
We will all have watched
with horror the escalation of the war since.
Many people have lost their
lives, their homes and their livelihoods. The scale of the humanitarian crisis
that is unfolding is horrific and there is a real urgency to put in place
practical means of support for those who have been displaced from their homes.
I fully support the First
Minister’s commitment that Wales should be a nation of sanctuary and to this
end officers and members of the cabinet are actively engaging with Welsh
Government to make speedy preparations to receive Ukrainian refugees.
On Monday of this week the
UK Government announced two special visa routes:
A Family Visa route – this
is now open and essentially provides a pathway for those refugees who have
family already resident in the UK.
The second route is the
Home for Ukrainians scheme – from Monday of this week, those who have
accommodation that they can offer for at least six months can register their
interest in participating in the scheme.
There are two sub elements
to this programme. The first is for people with accommodation who know
Ukrainians seeking support and the second will be for those people who have
accommodation but do not have a connection to a Ukrainian seeking support. In
the second element, civic society - for example church groups and charities –
will have a role in matching someone seeking support with someone able to
provide that support.
When there is a match
between someone offering support and someone requesting support, the digital
portal provides for a criminal records check of both parties and if that is
satisfactory a visa is then issued. Those with a visa will have the right to
access public funds and public services from the point of arrival. Local
authorities will be expected to make local safeguarding checks to make sure
that the accommodation is suitable and so on.
There is no UK assistance
with travel – it is for the refugee to find their way to the UK.
Welsh Government have
agreed in principle with the UK Government that they would wish to operate as a
super sponsor. As part of this role, the Welsh Government would be looking to
establish a number of reception centres before dispersing refugees to a network
of accommodation.
Local authorities will
receive a tariff of £10,500 per refugee in year one but the tariff for years 2
and 3 is yet to be determined. This funding is intended to meet the costs of
providing services – for example education for those families with children of
school age.
As members will appreciate,
this is a very fast moving picture which is subject to considerable change. The
Chief Executive has asked that the Director of Social Services, Mr Andrew
Jarrett co-ordinates this Council’s involvement in the humanitarian effort. He
will be establishing an internal cross directorate group to co-ordinate our own
service response and a second multi-agency group to co-ordinate the wider
community response.
On the back of the pandemic
when many services, particularly care, education and housing are under severe
ongoing pressure, there will be challenges ahead. However, we will pull out all
the stops to play a full part in responding to this humanitarian crisis.
In addition to the
humanitarian crisis that we are responding to, there are wider ramifications
for us. We were already seeing the cost of living crisis hit many of our
residents hard and the increased energy costs and related inflationary
pressures will compound this. The Chief Executive is taking steps to establish
these wider impacts and how we can mobilise the best response. As we move into the pre-election period
arrangements will be put in place to ensure there is regular communication with
elected members so that we are working cohesively to support our communities
and our local businesses whilst also ensuring Ukrainian people find a safe and
supportive haven here in Neath Port Talbot.”
Members
noted that the Chief Executive will be arranging for the above briefing to be
sent by email to all elected members following the meeting today.
Councillors
A.Llewelyn, Leader of Plaid Cymru
and S.Jones , Leader of the Independent Democrats
endorsed the joint statement.
The
Deputy Mayor asked Council to join with him in congratulating Cllr A.R. Aubrey
and family on the recent birth of a girl, Enfys.