Guernsey households for Ukrainian refugees sought

Guernsey residents are being asked if they would be interested in supporting Ukrainian refugees

A search for people who could be interested in housing Ukrainian refugees in Guernsey has been launched.

The States is looking at what support would be needed if it adopted the UK's sponsorship scheme, Homes for Ukraine.

It is asking for expressions of interest from households in Guernsey, Alderney and Sark.

Deputy Peter Ferbrache said: "We need to make sure that we're able to offer them the support they will need and support for the sponsors".

"The reason we cannot give absolute clarity at this stage is because we don't yet have the full detail of how the UK's Homes for Ukraine scheme would work here in Guernsey," he said.

Guernsey's chief minister said sponsoring refugees who have no family connections to the island "is a significant undertaking" which needs a bailiwick-wide approach.

"While we are absolutely hopeful of our ability to help, we need to assess what we would need to do to make such a scheme operate in the bailiwick before determining what modifications are needed to suit the local context."

An online form on the government website will be used to inform the cross committee looking at what support would be needed if the island adopted, in full or in part, the UK's refugee sponsorship scheme.

This proposed scheme is separate to the one already in place for people with family links to Guernsey, the States said.

Anyone who has already completed the UK form is asked to also complete this one.

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