First Minister Mark Drakeford hopes to offer room to Ukrainian refugee

First Minister Mark Drakeford has said he would like to open up his home to Ukrainian refugees when they begin arriving in Wales.

Speaking to ITV Cymru Wales programme Sharp End, Mr Drakeford said that he and his family are prepared to help people fleeing the war.

He said: "We're in the lucky position where we can do that. There are some practical things you have to work out, particularly given the job that I do. But if it's possible to do it, then we as a family would definitely like to be able to do that."

Secretary of State for Wales, Simon Hart announced on Friday morning (March 18) that there had been 10,236 expressions of interest from people in Wales in the 'Homes for Ukraine' scheme. The programme is designed to match Ukrainians with sponsors in the UK. 

Mr Hart 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."

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

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

Since last Monday (March 14), 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.

You can see more on that on Sharp End, on Monday March 21 at 10:45 on ITV Cymru Wales.