The summer of 2022 started Summer with the equinox on Tuesday, 21 June and will end on Friday, 23 September.
I don't aim to cover everything here, and neither do I have all the answers. Apologies to any that are hooked by the information or thoughts held here. Like you, I am a student of life, and at times I need to explore the circumstances that I connect to and discover what is currently the Truth I can see. Which doesn't mean that I am closed to seeing where I can be further guided to the actual Truth.
The continued impact of:
the inflation surge as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began in 2020, has continued, and the year has seen the lifting of COVID restrictions, and the reopening of international borders. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II, has caused the displacement of 14.9 million Ukrainians (8 million internally displaced persons and 6.9 million refugees) and has led to international condemnations and sanctions, the withdrawal of hundreds of companies from Russia, and the exclusion of Russia from major sporting events.
^Refugees queue at the Medyka crossing on the Ukraine-Poland border. Photograph: Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images The "Homes for Ukraine scheme":
The government has created three visa schemes for people fleeing the war in Ukraine: the Ukraine Extension Scheme, the Ukraine Family Scheme, and the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme, also known as Homes for Ukraine. There is no cap on the number of people who can come under the Ukraine schemes, and the total number of people eligible for the schemes is not known.
The Ukraine Extension Scheme, which opened on 3 May 2022, allows Ukrainians (or their close family members) who were in the UK on temporary visas on or before 18 March 2022 to apply to extend their stay for three years. The visa permits access to benefits, work, and study, but does not provide a pathway towards settlement in the UK. The application is free and does not require applicants to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge.
The Ukraine Family Scheme, which opened for applications on 4 March 2022, is a visa scheme for people fleeing Ukraine who are the family members of either British citizens or people with settlement in the UK. Ukrainians on temporary visas are not eligible to bring family members under the Ukraine Family Scheme. This policy requires people to apply for a visa from outside of the UK.
The Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme, also known as Homes for Ukraine, opened for applications on 18 March 2022. This scheme allows any Ukrainian citizen fleeing the conflict, or the immediate family member of a Ukrainian citizen, to come to the UK if they can find a sponsor within the community. The Homes for Ukraine visa lasts for three years.
The Sponsorship scheme has different arrangements for sponsorship in Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. Wales and Scotland introduced ‘super sponsor’ schemes, where the governments of these nations act directly as sponsors, with local authorities finding accommodation rather than it being provided by individual sponsors. However, these super sponsor schemes were temporarily paused as of early June 2022, with the Welsh scheme closed to new applications from 10 June 2022, and the Scottish scheme closed to new applications from 13 July. The government has said that a second phase of the Homes for Ukraine scheme would allow for private or public organisations, such as charities or businesses, to act as sponsors, although at the time of writing this has not been rolled out, and it is unclear when it will be. - The Migration Observatory at Oxford University provided the above on August 24th, and explores their impact of them. The Migration Observatory informs debates on international migration and public policy. From the same source: How does the UK’s approach compare to that of other European countries?
There are two key areas of difference between the UK approach and the approach taken by EU countries: the visa requirement, and the eligibility criteria.
On 4 March 2022, the EU rolled out a ‘temporary protection' status for those who have been displaced. Under this scheme, those who have been displaced as a result of the war do not need to apply for asylum but can receive temporary migration status. This status is initially for one year but may be extended to three years depending on how the situation in Ukraine evolves.
Before the war began, Ukrainian citizens were already eligible to travel to the EU without applying in advance for a visa. Ireland previously required a visa for Ukrainians (its visa-free travel list has traditionally been coordinated with the UK as a result of the Common Travel Area), but lifted the requirement on 25 February 2022, the day after the Russian invasion, in order to enable people with family in Ireland to travel there quickly.
The UK’s approach is thus more restrictive than the EU’s in two respects. First, not all Ukrainians are automatically eligible; they need either UK family connections or sponsorship. And second, they must apply for a visa in advance. The same source again: How many people have come to the UK under the Ukraine Schemes, and where do they live?
The government releases regular statistics on applications and visa issuances for the family and sponsorship schemes. These show that as of 16 August 2022, the Ukraine Family Scheme, which opened for applications on 4 March 2022, had received 57,700 applications (with one application required per person), with 49,700 visas issued. The Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (Homes for Ukraine), which opened on 18 March 2022, had received 148,300 applications as of 16 August 2022, with 127,300 visas issued. This means that as of 16 August 2022, a total of 206,000 applications had been submitted across both schemes, with 177,000 visas issued. However, only 115,200 of these visa holders had actually arrived in the UK as of 15 August 2022: 33,500 under the Family Scheme, and 81,700 under the Sponsorship Scheme. Notably, these figures do not take into account those who applied for visas, received them, entered the UK – but have now returned to Ukraine.
This means that in a period of under six months, more people received protection in the UK under the country’s two main Ukraine Schemes (i.e., 115,000 arrivals), than the total who received protection under the country’s asylum system and refugee resettlement routes in the six years from 2016 to 2021.
Statistics are also published on the Extension Scheme, which show that as of 16 August 2022, 14,300 applications had been received, with 9,800 applications granted, and 4,300 awaiting a decision. The data show that at least one person has been sponsored to live in properties in each of the UK’s 374 local authorities. The average local authority has 245 Homes for Ukraine visa holders connected to nominated properties there. The local authority with the most sponsors’ properties was Buckinghamshire, where 1,526 Homes for Ukraine visa holders’ sponsors had their nominated property. London is a particular hotspot for sponsors’ nominated properties, with around 15,000 visas being issued to individuals whose sponsor’s property is in the capital. This is an average of 458 visa holders across London’s 33 local authorities (its 32 boroughs, plus the City of London), which is 213 more than the local authority average for the UK. The Office for National Statistics estimates using 2019 data that there was a relatively small population of Ukrainian-born residents in the UK, around 38,000 – putting Ukraine in 52nd place in the league table of the most common foreign countries of birth among people in the UK. (Note that these are pre-pandemic figures, which are more reliable than 2020 estimates.)
The Office for National Statistics has also published an early release of data from the 2021 England and Wales Census, which has not yet been adjusted upwards to account for people who did not respond. This suggested that there were 38,000 Ukrainian-born people in England and Wales in March 2021. Just under 19,000, or half, of the Ukrainian-born population, lived in London, and all of the top ten local authorities that were home to Ukrainian migrants were in London. The largest numbers at the local level were found in Newham (1,340), Ealing (1,140), Hounslow (1,120), and Waltham Forest (1,070). These figures suggest that the existence of diaspora is a good predictor of where Ukrainian refugees will move to in the UK.
Reliefweb provides: "In response to ONS survey on Homes for Ukraine Scheme, Enver Solomon, CEO of Refugee Council, said:
“We welcomed the fact that thousands of British people that came forward to open their homes, however these hosting arrangements in the long – term were always going to encounter challenges.
“We are already aware of hundreds of Ukrainian refugees, predominantly women and children, at risk of homelessness due to complications with their hosting arrangements, and now the additional burden of [the] cost of living on families here in the UK poses a further threat to vulnerable Ukrainians.
“That is why it is so vital that the Government provides hosts and refugees with the right support, funding and advice – including a review of funding, and help to make arrangements for long-term accommodation so Ukrainians can live independently and avoid the risk of homelessness.
“Both Homes for Ukraine and the Family Visa scheme need sufficient attention and support to ensure they are fit for purpose, to protect refugees in desperate need of a safe roof over their heads, and for families and hosts who have opened their doors to be able to support them effectively.”"
^Anti-war demonstrators and Ukrainians living in the UK, gathered around 10 Downing Street to protest against Russia's military operation in Ukraine, on February 25, 2022, in London, United Kingdom. Photo by Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Thoughts: The tide seems to be turning in the war. Many atrocities will have occurred on both sides. This is not the only area in the world where conflict is happening. Conflict is part of life; unfortunately.
My sincere empathy and sympathy are extended to anyone who has lost loved ones, war causes casualties on both sides. Understanding and forgiveness can really be hard at times. Greif and the desire for retribution or answers; are places we put the effort of love when we have lost where it once went.
Sending Metta In Times Of War And Aggression
Party-gate, and the handling of Covid-19
A 'limbo state'
The UK experiences temperatures of 40°C for the first time
Fears continue to grow over a potential global food security crisis
The cost-of-living crisis
How is the UK inflation is calculated
How are some of the general bills affected?
How has the government pledged to help so far?
Pay and job vacancies
How are we advised to survive the crisis?
If you are getting into debt
Lovingkindness in times of uncertainty
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