Ukraine
Debate between Lord Sharpe of Epsom and Baroness Andrews
Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)
On the first question, part of the problem with the helpline is that one of the things it is having to deliver is access to a new application form that had to be developed in four days. That is not quite ready. The noble Baroness shrugs her shoulders on that point, but I think it is important to bear in mind that we are doing everything we are doing in liaison with the people of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Government. My noble friend Lady Williams just made this point.
The Home Secretary is regularly in contact with the Ukrainian authorities and the ambassador, and we are very much following their lines. I refer noble Lords, if they are interested, to an article in the Times this morning, talking about the diplomatic difficulties in making excessive plans early. I accept the point that this is a fluid situation and that it needs to be done, but it is important to bear in mind that this is happening at record speed. I am told that forms of this sort that have to be developed digitally normally take months, not days. This is being done very quickly.
I answered that question at such length that I have completely forgotten your second question—and I just said “your”, so I apologise for that as well. It was to do with EEA citizens. I cannot answer that specifically, but I cannot imagine, given what I have said about Ukrainians with settled status and about British citizens, that that would not be the case. As I have said already, this is meant to be a generous scheme, not a bureaucratic scheme.
On the last point, I have referred to the letter that is coming with the amendment today. I hope I am not piling too much pressure on the letter, but I have not seen it and I am not going to pre-empt what is in it.
Baroness Andrews (Lab)
My Lords, we are very grateful for the Minister’s Statement. He was not able to answer all the questions from my noble friend on the Front Bench. He was asked about the assistance we are giving to countries that border Ukraine, particularly Poland, which is taking the brunt of refugees. What can we do to build capacity on the ground to support those refugees? Speed is obviously of the essence. I know the Statement says we have one pop-up assessment centre: clearly, that is not going to be enough, even for the numbers we are thinking of taking. Everything is being done for the first time—we appreciate that—but what else can we do to support the Poles to develop their own humanitarian response and also to make sure we are doing everything we can as early as we can for those desperate people?
Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)
I thank the noble Baroness for that question. I think I have answered about some of the humanitarian actions that the Government have already taken and enacted very swiftly. Obviously, as the noble Lord, Lord Ponsonby, said, the situation is incredibly fluid, and I have no doubt that the Government will react to circumstances on the ground as and when required, at the request of the countries involved. I think I am right in saying—if I am not, I will correct myself later—that very recently, some Royal Marines were redeployed to that part of the world. It is happening, and happening fast.
The visa application centres, to which I think the noble Baroness was referring, are in the following locations. We have them in Poland, in Warsaw. There is the new one in Rzeszów, which I think I referenced on Monday—possibly the only thing I referenced on Monday. We have ones in Moldova, Romania and Hungary. and one is still open in Ukraine, in Lviv. We had to close the one in Kyiv, for obvious reasons. Demand across them is actually not as high as we would have expected at the moment, but we are none the less increasing capacity. More biometric kits are being redeployed and capacity is increasing on an ongoing basis.