More than 10,000 people in Wales sign up to take in Ukrainian refugees

Thousands of people in Wales have signed up to provide a home for Ukrainian refugees.

Secretary of State for Wales, Simon Hart announced on Friday morning that there had been 10,236 expressions of interest in the 'Homes for Ukraine' scheme, designed to match Ukrainians with sponsors in the UK. 

Mr Hart has thanked the people of Wales for their "extraordinary generosity".

He said: “Wales has a long and proud history of supporting refugees and the response of people across the country to help those fleeing the invasion of Ukraine has been remarkable.

“With more than 10,000 Welsh expressions of interest so far to provide housing and support through the UK Government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme, people across Wales are displaying extraordinary generosity towards those facing the most appalling and difficult circumstances. I thank everyone who has come forward to help.”

Since Monday, people in the UK have been able to register their interest to sponsor Ukrainian refugees, with more than 147,500 people already registering their interest.

Under the scheme, those offering homes to refugees would receive a thank you payment of £350 a month.

First Minister, Mark Drakeford has previously said that Wales would like to welcome 1,000 Ukrainian refugees in a first stage of a "super-sponsorship" scheme.