Exclusive: Khan tries to coordinate London hotel accommodation for Ukraine refugees
Sadiq Khan is in talks to try and coordinate hotel accommodation for Ukrainian refugees set to arrive in London as a part of a similar scheme used to house homeless people during the first Covid lockdown.
City Hall has been speaking to the government about how to house those fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with several London councils ready to house refugees in hotels if Whitehall provides funding.
A source close to Khan said City Hall was in a “holding pattern right now” while it waits for the government to outline more details of how it will help facilitate the living arrangements of the tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees expected to enter London.
The government has opened up refugee routes to up to 200,000 Ukrainian refugees – those who have extended family in the UK and those who get sponsored by businesses, community groups or local authorities.
The UK has so far processed refugee visas for just over 1,000 people, which pales in comparison to other western European countries like Germany who has taken in 30,000 Ukrainians.
The vast majority of the 60,000 Ukrainians currently in the UK live in London.
In a letter to home secretary Priti Patel sent last week, Khan said a plan to settle refugees “must be mobilised quickly, alongside a commitment to a comprehensive funding package and full access to benefits, to ensure Ukrainians seeking refuge are welcomed here with open arms”.
The government provided funding for local councils to shelter homeless people during the first lockdown in hotels, with sources close to Khan saying that a similar package needs to be implemented.
The central London councils that have the most hotel rooms in their boroughs include Westminster City Council, Camden Council and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
A Camden Council source said “we’re expecting a lot of free rooms in our borough to be used by Ukrainian refugees”, but that it has had no guidance from Whitehall.
The mayor of London met with Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK, last week to discuss the flow of refugees into the nation’s capital and how to house them.
Prystaiko yesterday told MPs on Westminster’s Home Affairs Committee: “We are now talking with the mayor of London [about] where we can re-settle these people.
“Should we have the place where they can stay altogether so it will be easier for us, for the embassy, to give them the services they need for somebody else to look after them? Or should they be allowed as any other citizen to go wherever they like wherever they believe the opportunities are?”
A spokesperson for Khan said: “It is vital that ministers get a hold of the situation, act to secure immediate safe passage for Ukrainians seeking sanctuary in the UK, and set out a comprehensive funding package to ensure they can be welcomed with open arms when they arrive.”
A government spokesperson said: “The routes we have put in place follow extensive engagement with Ukrainian partners. This is a rapidly moving and complex picture and as the situation develops we will continue to keep our support under constant review.”