Michael Gove’s plan to permit UK householders to shelter Ukrainians seeking to escape the Russian war machine has been compared to a “DIY asylum scheme” after it was announced that people would have to name the refugees they wish to sponsor.
The communities secretary was criticised after setting out details of the homes for Ukraine scheme in the Commons on Monday, after complaints about the government’s slow response to the worst humanitarian disaster in Europe for decades.
The scheme will initially only facilitate sponsorship between people with known connections so it can be “up and running as soon as possible,” Gove told MPs. He added that it should “rapidly” expand by working with charities, faith and community groups.
Lisa Nandy, the shadow communities secretary, raised concerns over matching Ukrainian families to sponsors and claimed the government was suggesting people should advertise on Instagram via a “DIY asylum scheme.”
“On his [Gove’s] tour of the TV studios, he suggested several times that people who are willing to sponsor a Ukrainian family need to come to the government with the name of that family who will then rubber stamp it,” she said.
“He can’t seriously be asking Ukrainian families who are fleeing Vladimir Putin, who have left their homes with nothing, to get on to Instagram and advertise themselves in the hope a British family might notice them. Is this genuinely the extent of this scheme?” she said.
The details of the new scheme were unveiled after the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, became the first senior MP to say that he would apply, while No 10 said the prime minister would not for security reasons. The website accepting UK applicants appeared to crash on Monday afternoon, minutes after being launched.
Britons will be able to apply to accept Ukrainians into their homes for a minimum of six months, and will be given £350 a month for doing so. They will be subjected to “light touch” vetting checks and checks from local authorities on the suitability of their homes. By 8.30pm GMT on Monday, almost 37,000 forms had been submitted by UK householders to join the scheme.
Sponsored Ukrainians will be granted three years’ leave to remain in the UK, with entitlement to work and access public services.
Speaking in the Commons, Gove said the number of Ukrainians now arriving in the UK was “rapidly increasing.” “The scheme will allow Ukrainians with no family ties to the UK to be sponsored by individuals or organisations who can offer them a home. There will be no limit to the number of Ukrainians who can benefit from this scheme,” he said.
Asked about safeguarding checks on UK applicants, he said: “We are working with the Home Office. We don’t believe we need to have full DBS checks in order to make sure that someone is an appropriate sponsor.
“It will often be the case that very light-touch criminal checks will be sufficient and then local authorities can be supported in order to make sure that people are safe.”
The government has already made changes to simplify the visa application scheme, Gove said. “We are moving as quickly as possible in order to ensure – working with NGOs and local government – that individuals in need can be found the families and sponsors whom they need in order to get people into this country as quickly as possible.”
Gove said he was speaking to people in local government 10 days ago about the scheme, telling MPs additional funding was available to local authorities for school places and care.
Nandy also questioned the government’s insistence that Ukrainians will have to fill in lengthy visa application forms. “We could keep essential checks but drop the excessive bureaucracy,” she said.
The SNP’s home affairs spokesperson, Stuart McDonald, called for the government to “stop asking Ukrainians to apply for visas altogether.”
Earlier, it emerged that the PM was unlikely to take any Ukrainian refugees into No 10 because of security concerns, but the transport secretary said he would apply to the new programme.
Asked about Johnson, who lives in the flat above No 11 Downing Street with his wife, Carrie, and two of his children, the PM’s spokesman said: “There are specific challenges around security on housing people in No 10.
“Various ministers have been asked about this. Obviously it will come down to individual circumstances. This is a significant commitment.”
Shapps became the first senior MP to confirm he would register to host a Ukrainian refugee in his home.
“We intend to apply today to join other UK households in offering our home to provide refuge to Ukrainians until it is safe for them to return to their country,” he tweeted.
Around 4,000 visas have so far been granted through that route, the latest Home Office figures show.
The Home Office has defended requiring security checks on Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion, arguing that it must ensure the UK helps those in genuine need.
The government has faced criticism – including from its own MPs – over the speed and scale of its response to the refugee crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
More than 2.5 million people have fled Ukraine as Russia continues its advance.The UN high commissioner for refugees has called it the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since the second world war and it is expected that the number could grow to 4 million people.
