A lone child, travelling without any parent or guardian, has arrived from Ukraine as a refugee in Wales. Jane Hutt MS told the Senedd that the child had arrived to stay with a sponsor family and was being supported by a local authority and other agencies.
Around 6,000 Ukrainians sponsored by the Welsh government and Welsh households arrived in Wales by October 18, and there have been additional arrivals under the Ukraine Family Scheme.
Social Just Minister Jane Hutt said that around 1,000 children are expected to arrive in the UK without parents or guardians, after new rules were brought in that allows Ukrainian children to come to Britain alone. She added that around 15 children will be coming to Wales.
The rule change came after more than 500 children who fled the war without their parents were stuck waiting in limbo across Europe after applying to the Homes for Ukraine scheme. Most were teenagers who thought they would be eligible and have British families waiting to host them.
Ms Hutt told the Welsh Parliament's Local Government and Housing Committee on Thursday (October 27) the changes meant "a child or young person could apply for a visa if they had proof of parental consent or [from] an authority approved by the UK Ukrainian government" under the Homes scheme.
Labour Senedd member Jayne Bryant had asked a question about whether any child refugees had come to Wales along.
Ms Hutt said: "This week, we've just heard that the first young person has been able to come to Wales through this route. We were anticipating about 1,000 coming through across the UK and, obviously, it does take time, their individual circumstances are very complex.
"We anticipate that, probably, in Wales, we were thinking perhaps that 15 might come, but the first one has arrived."
In a statement to the Welsh Parliament on Tuesday, Ms Hutt more than 8,300 visas had now been granted to people from the Ukraine with sponsors in Wales, "so we can expect the number of arrivals to continue to grow steadily in the coming weeks".
The Welsh Government has called on more Welsh households to take in Ukrainians fleeing the war. After pausing its super-sponsor scheme for Ukrainian refugees, there is now a need for more accommodation for families looking to escape Putin's unprovoked and illegal war. Read more here.
Welcome centres were set up across Wales including in hotels and university accommodation. The idea was arrivals would go to those and are then moved onto medium and longer-term accommodation. There are 40 sites across Wales for initial accommodation which is a diverse mix of places.
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