British families, charities and the voluntary sector are stepping up to the plate, but the Government must do more to play its part in supporting vulnerable mothers fleeing Ukraine with their children, Lord Loomba warned in the House of Lords debate on the Queen’s Speech last week.
The Loomba Foundation has extensive experience of the impact of conflict in many parts of the world, particularly in driving up numbers of vulnerable widows and single mothers with dependent children, and the massive upheaval this causes for families and communities.
“We have seen how this is the predominant feature of the Ukrainian refugee crisis today,” Lord Loomba told the House, “and we know the range of support that is essential for these mothers to create the stabilisation they crave for their families.”
British families have opened their homes, but, he noted, “the current system which the Government has put in place simply does not provide enough support for the vulnerable women and children arriving in the UK.”
Living arrangements can break down for a variety of reasons and in such circumstances, Lord Loomba said, “we need to put measures in place so that local authorities receive funding to match them with another family or to provide alternative accommodation.”
“We also need funding from central government to provide pastoral and mental health support for these refugees,” Lord Loomba added. “We know that children as well as adults who have suffered trauma need the right help as early as possible, so they can start to build a new future in the UK.”
Lord Loomba’s plea carried extra weight because he speaks for charities who are actively doing all they can to fill the gaps and meet immediate needs of Ukrainian refugees, and he used the occasion to announce a new Loomba Foundation partnership with Barnardo’s, of which he is a Vice-President, whereby the Loomba Foundation will fund vouchers for Ukrainian refugee families to obtain essential items from any one of Barnardo’s nationwide network of more than 630 shops.
“Important as such measures can be for individual families,” he concluded, “we cannot rely on charities alone to support the Ukrainian families and their British hosts, and I call on the Government to engage with us to help define the wider support that is needed, and to provide the resources to do so.”
Acknowledging Lord Loomba’s contribution on behalf of the Government, Baroness Barran highlighted his reference to the need for mental health care and undertook to write and address the points he made.
