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UK’s ‘moral responsibility continues’ for people of Ukraine, Bishop tells peers

31 October 2024

House of Lords debate, introduced by Lord Coaker, marks 1000 days of war

Alamy

A drawing in the exhibition “In Thoughts and Heart” in Sobornaya Square, Odesa, in Ukraine, last month. The drawings were by children awaiting the return of relatives from the front

A drawing in the exhibition “In Thoughts and Heart” in Sobornaya Square, Odesa, in Ukraine, last month. The drawings were by children awaiting the ret...

ALTHOUGH “coverage of the war in Ukraine has waned, daily suffering there has not; so our moral responsibility continues”, the Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Revd Martyn Snow, said in the House of Lords last Friday. He was speaking during the debate on Ukraine, introduced by Lord Coaker as the war’s 1000-day mark approached.

Tacking away from the theme of military support, Bishop Snow sought “to reflect on another very important and positive aspect of our response to the war . . . the Ukraine family scheme and the Ukraine sponsorship scheme . . . two of the only legal routes for people seeking asylum in the UK. More than 200,000 visas were issued to Ukrainians, and thousands of families from across the political spectrum offered their homes to those fleeing the war.”

He recalled “how generously the public responded to the ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme” (News, 18 March 2022, 17 March 2023), and how the initiative had meant that “many successfully integrated into British society [with] around 70 per cent of working-age Ukrainian refugees in employment.” He said that “integration in this case did not mean assimilation. Ukrainian churches and cultural organisations held events and celebrations enabling refugees to maintain a connection to their homeland, as well as build friendships across social supports. This kind of integration does not happen by accident.”

He said that “choosing to speak compassionately about Ukrainian refugees and focusing on the kindness of families hosting them created the opportunity for refugees to discover how to be both Ukrainian and British — to begin healing from the trauma of war and displacement, and to start building a new life that honours the old.”

The Bishop acknowledged that the Ukraine scheme had not been “without challenges”, but wanted “to pose the question of why this is not the norm. If the major political parties and the general public see this as the right response to an outbreak of war, and if we are able both to give people in desperate need a new start and to benefit from their skills, why only Ukraine? Why not make this the model for a sustainable way of welcoming all refugees seeking sanctuary in the UK?”

Baroness Hayter said: “Today, nearly 1000 days on, we weep for the lost people of Ukraine, for the lost homes, farms, factories, jobs, and lives, and for the loss of security. We weep, too, for the loss of families.

“The children’s charity Coram has pointed out that a distinctive feature of this war is the very large number of mothers and children who have left the country. Those children are attending schools and receiving services in the UK that are a far cry from those available back home. Significant support will be needed to modernise children’s social care at speed when they return.”

Lord McConnell agreed. “We need to continue to do all we can to help the Ukrainians — not just on the battlefield, but particularly in those preparations for reconstruction, by ensuring that they have as much access as possible to British companies and expertise, and that we support them through the rebuilding of their public services.”

A number of speakers considered the geopolitical implications. Baroness Helic said: “Ukraine is fighting for its own survival. It is also, by extension, fighting for peace and security in Europe and beyond. If borders can be changed in Ukraine, a message will go out that they can change elsewhere, too.” Lord Balfe referred to “the Vatican position . . . that there should be negotiations, and that Russia must be included. Cardinal Parolin, the Secretary of State in the Vatican, has made it very clear that he is willing to act as a good envoy between the two sides.”

In the concluding speech, the Foreign Office minister Baroness Chapman referred to Bishop Snow’s points on “visas, and our plans for the ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme . . . that there will be an opportunity for Ukrainians here to extend their visa if they want to, starting after Christmas”.

The motion, “That this House takes note of the situation in Ukraine”, was carried.

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