To consider and ask questions on a verbal update on the Council’s response to the current situation in the Ukraine.
Minutes:
The Portfolio Holder for People and Homes placed on record her thanks for the whole team who had been dealing with this as they had been doing an outstanding job.
The Director of Housing, who was leading on the response to the situation locally advised the Board of the current situation in relation to the role of the Council in the Homes for Ukraine programme. The Communities Manager explained to the Board in greater detail the actions which the Council had been taking on the ground which included developing a welcome pack for BCP, with Ukrainian, Polish and Russian versions as well as English. It was noted that this was because there had been strong support from the local Polish community. Checks on accommodation for those who had volunteered were underway and none had been found which could not be suitable.
The Board thanked the Portfolio Holder and Officers for the information provided and the work which was being done. A number of points were raised and responded to including:
· What the situation was regarding children in attendance at local schools and the information being provided to their sponsors on this. It was noted that this would have to be looked at as and when people were here, including what were the main issues which required ongoing support. It was confirmed that if living in the area they would have the same rights as other residents, including claiming universal credit and attending schools. Arriving families were being visited with interpreter to check if they had any support needs and ensure access to emergency support if required.
· Whether there was any obligation for banks to provide Ukrainians with accounts or whether this was a known issue. It was noted that the normal procedures for opening a bank account may present difficulties for Ukrainian refugees and the banks had been advised that they should not be required to provide them with a proof of address.
· There were local residents on the Polish Boarder ready to collect refugees to bring them back to BCP.
· It was acknowledged that this was a fast-moving situation, and it was good to hear that the Council would be receiving payments through this. However, there was concern that there would be a number of increased costs for the Council which were unexpected and whether officer time would be correctly allocated to these cost codes. It was noted that these had already been set up and that there was likely to be additional costs for things like education and welcoming people at ports of entry. The Council were already familiar with tariffs for the situation due to previous work with Afghan refugees.
· There were concerns raised about the potential responses of local residents particularly in relation to issues such as the availability of school places.
· In response to a question, it was noted that those arriving were mainly women coming with children, the Council would be able to potentially support them in finding work. Offers of employment had been made by local companies.
· A Councillor commented that a number of people also wanted to help in addition to those able to offer accommodation but were not sure how they could. It was noted that in terms of additional help the Council were waiting to see what the particular needs were of those arriving in the area, the council would be in touch with sponsors and local community groups to address these issues early on.
· Officers provided the following contact details for any individual residents who wanted to offer support:
Tel.: 01202 123987
resettlement@bcpcouncil.gov.uk
· In response to a query, it was noted that the Council was not quite so involved in the Family Scheme. There were no tariffs for the family scheme and there was no way for the Council to know how many in the area would be supported through this scheme. It was noted that there may be a need for some revised communications to highlight this issue and encourage families to come forward so that their needs could be addressed.
· A Councillor raised a concern with regards to the pressures this would raise for a number of teams providing support for this. It was noted that people had been seconded into the team which was mainly a mixture of Housing and Communities teams’ staff. The resourcing for this would need to be monitored closely as there was a need to move through quickly.
· A member commented that there were at least five hotels in Bournemouth dealing with refugees and asked whether there was additional support being provided to the NHS to support refugees with accessing GP and dental services and the mental health issues of those arriving. The Director advised that there had been discussions with health partners, and they were committed to ensuring Ukrainians had good access to healthcare, but they were not able to comment on the financial arrangements involved.
· The Chairman of the Children’s O&S Committee asked about unaccompanied children, including how they would arrive and what support was available to them and whether anything could be done to increase the number of social workers to support this. It was noted that support was focussed on families and there shouldn’t be any unaccompanied children as part of the Homes for Ukraine scheme. The government have asked BCP Council to advise if any unaccompanied children arrived through any of the schemes.
· There had been some guidance offered from central government to schools requesting that they were flexible in terms of class sizes. It was appreciated that there may be some community tensions surrounding this issue. School colleagues were looking into this and would be dealing with this scenario as sensitively as possible.
· It was noted that over 500 households had come forward to say they could accommodate people for 6 months. This was an opportunity which shouldn’t be missed to see if any of those people who had come forward were able to provide support in future, e.g., with fostering. It was agreed that there were definitely opportunities but there was also a possibility that some of the placements may breakdown and therefor they would be offered significant support.
· In response to a question, it was confirmed that Adult Social Care was part of the partner working and anyone requiring support services would be assessed and prioritised as they came forward.
The Chief Executive and Chairman of the Board both placed on record their appreciation and support for the work which was being undertaken by the team supporting this.