Councils in Staffordshire are busy putting everything in place to welcome refugees from Ukraine.

Around 183 sponsors have been matched with an evacuee from Ukraine so far under the government's Homes for Ukraine scheme, offering accommodation for an estimated 478 refugees.

Staffordshire County Council and the eight district and borough councils of East Staffordshire, Stafford, Tamworth, Cannock Chase, Staffordshire Moorlands, South Staffordshire, Lichfield and Newcastle-under-Lyme say they are working hard to ensure everything is in place for their arrival. 

This includes ensuring proper checks are in place to make sure people are safe, working with schools to prepare them for children arriving, and working with GPs so that people can register and access services and support.

County Councillor Victoria Wilson, Cabinet Member for Communities said: "Once again, Staffordshire people have stepped up to help those in need, generously offering their homes to people in Ukraine fleeing war, and I want to thank every sponsor for generously offering to share their home with people in need. We are now doing everything we can to ensure evacuees from Ukraine receive a warm welcome in our county.

"Many people coming to our county will be traumatised by the events in Ukraine, so it is really important to have the right support in place to help them.

"This really has been a partnership effort – our district and borough councils are also playing a huge part in this effort, and we are working with them and health partners to ensure everything is in place. It's our job to keep everyone involved in this scheme as safe as possible, so it's really important we put all of the essential checks in place and ensure everything is set up for when they arrive."

For more information on the scheme, visit www.staffordshire.gov.uk/ukraine. 

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