Responding to today’s Statement by the Minister for Social Justice, ‘Update on Ukraine’, Shadow Social Justice Minister and North Wales MS Mark Isherwood raised the case of a constituent housing a Ukrainian refugee Family who had experienced problems accessing a school place for the Family’s child, and emphasised the need for the Welsh Government to ensure that Local Authority and Health Services across Wales understand what is expected of them.
Mr Isherwood referred to the latest UK Government figures showing that 3,300 visas had been issued to people from Ukraine to come to Wales via the Homes for Ukraine scheme, up 1000 in just a fortnight, and that, overall, a total of 132,900 UK Ukraine Scheme Visa applications have now been received, with 120,300 Visas issued, up from 73.2% to 77% in a fortnight, and 46,100 total arrivals of Visa holders in the UK, up from 23% to 34.6% in a fortnight.
He also asked the Minister to respond to the ‘British Red Cross Briefing on Ukraine’, with recommended actions, received by Senedd members last week, which included the statements that:
- ‘As refugees settle into Wales, monitoring the welfare and safety of refugees longer-term will be crucial. Therefore, in the Welsh Government’s role as a super sponsor under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, it is important that assurances are made around safeguarding support to ensure that there is a role for local authorities in monitoring ongoing support around welfare of Ukrainians as they settle in Wales.’
- And that ‘While support to date is welcome, we want to minimise the risk of embedding a two-tiered system for refugees in Wales and the UK which would mean treating people differently based on the way they arrived. The proposed changes could leave people without access to vital support’.
Speaking in the Senedd Chamber this afternoon, he said:
“Responding to you two weeks ago, I asked how you were “working with Ministerial colleagues to ensure that school places and local GP and NHS services are available to Ukrainian refugees when they arrive in Wales”.
“You responded that “It's crucial in terms of education that children can obtain admission to schools, and, indeed, also, I have to say, to the health service, to their GPs, to the health checks that are under way. This is monitored on a daily basis”.
“However, I subsequently contacted you on behalf of a constituent who had a Ukrainian refugee Family arriving the following morning under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme, who had been told by Local Authority School Admissions that the Family’s Primary School age Child could not start education until she had a medical from the GP ‘as directed by the Welsh Government’; and who had been told by the GP they registered the family with, that they refused to do a medical, knew nothing of this requirement and did not have the capacity.
“May I thank you for your very prompt response to this, in which you stated:
- That Officials are following up with the admissions officer in the Local Authority to confirm that, providing the child is well, they do not need to wait for a health assessment for them to be able to attend school.
- That the requirement to delay attendance relates specifically to TB screening.
- That primary age school children “can attend if they are well”, but secondary age school children “do need an assessment and chest x-ray with the Health Board TB teams in advance of attending school”.
- And that, regarding “the position relayed to the family from the GP practice” you “have asked health officials to follow up on that with the Health Board as a matter of urgency”.
“The constituent subsequently told me that School admissions had contacted them to say that Primary School age children can now attend school – and thanking us for this. However, they added ‘I’m not sure of the process of her attending if her year group is full, which we have been told it is’.