Telford ready to welcome Ukrainian refugees says council leader
Telford & Wrekin is ready and willing to welcome Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian invasion, the leader of the borough council has said.
Councillor Shaun Davies condemned the “horrific” situation in Ukraine at a meeting of Telford & Wrekin Council’s cabinet on Thursday morning and said his administration was poised to help those affected in any way possible.
However, he said the council was still in the dark about how a resettlement scheme might be rolled out, and called for more “urgency” from the government over the situation.
Councillor Davies said: “There is a real commitment on behalf of Telford & Wrekin Council to do all that we can to support the Ukrainian resettlement programme as and when that comes through from government, and support the evacuees as much as we can.”
He also thanked groups and individuals from across the borough “that have already done so much to support Ukraine,” from sending donations to expressing an interest in hosting refugees.
“We are looking forward to more details from the government,” said Councillor Davies.
“We have been meeting with the Home Office and others and those meetings will continue.
“Our clear indication to the government is that we want to play our part and do our fair share to support the people of Ukraine.
“We need certainty and clarity from the government about how that will work, and how Ukrainian citizens who come to this country will be supported in terms of schooling, in terms of healthcare, in terms of housing.
“We cannot have a situation where we have got people in hotels for months on end, we do really need to see some urgency around this.”
