Why Ukrainian refugees can expect a warm welcome in Yorkshire cities like Sheffield – Olivia Blake

But it will not provide the opportunity for a right to work and access to benefits, and it does not grant an emergency protection visa.

Refugees: Britain’s duty to the world as Ukraine crisis deepens – The Yorkshire Post says

As a city of sanctuary, Sheffield has a proud history of supporting refugees and asylum seekers, and we are keen to do whatever we can.

Hundreds of my constituents have signed the petition and many more will be involved in the solidarity efforts in other ways, whether that is through donating money to emergency services, organising collections such as that of Crookes social club or writing to me to express their concerns about the Government’s approach.

There has been a huge outpouring of support for Ukrainians in my city.

The other great thing about my city is our universities, which are offering support to their students and staff alike, but more needs to be done to allow family reunion for those individuals.

It is not right that a nurse in the UK cannot bring over their family if they are on the wrong type of visa, and more needs to be done on that.

There is also more that universities could do to help to change the lives of thousands of young people in Ukraine who have had their university teaching cut short, so I hope Ministers are talking to the Minister for Higher and Further Education about potential avenues of support for students in Ukraine.

Last week, the Home Secretary announced her plans to allow Ukrainians with passports to apply for visas online.

Of course, I welcome any steps to make it easier for people to come here, but the UK response remains inadequate compared with that of our European partners.

I have several concerns about the family scheme. I particularly want to highlight the fact that the new online application will be accessible only to those with the right type of passport, yet some of the most vulnerable people are least likely to own one.

How can we expect people who have never travelled outside Ukraine to complete such applications, especially as they are in English?

My heart goes out to those families. There have been 4,000 births in bomb shelters. Caesareans have been done in the dark, for fear of bombing.

These are very vulnerable people and we should be making it as easy as possible for people who are going through the worst ordeal to get here.

Ministers have also acknowledged that most Ukrainians do not have a passport, making most potential applicants ineligible to apply online.

That is why it is hard to square this with the Government’s claim that the scheme will free up appointments in visa centres for the most vulnerable people and the most complex cases.

I asked last week what assessment has been done to understand who will benefit from the online move – we do not even know whether people should keep their appointments or free up those appointments, and it is unclear from those who are providing information what people should do.

Much more must be done to remove barriers that prevent people from getting here safely, and we should think about the long term, too.

We cannot forget the cruel Nationality and Borders Bill, which will see the UK abandon its obligations not only to Ukrainians, but to all refugees.

The latest polling by British Future shows that three in four people agree with the principle that those fleeing war and persecution should be able to take refuge in other countries, including the UK. That clearly shows that the Government are misjudging the public’s desire to help and the public mood.

It is time that Ministers caught up 
with the public mood and stretched 
every sinew to help those fleeing the violence in Ukraine and provide the support that they – and all refugees – urgently need.

Olivia Blake is the Labour MP for Sheffield Hallam and spoke in a Parliamentary debate on Ukrainian refugees – this is an edited version.

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