MP for Chesham and Amersham, Sarah Green, has accused the government of causing ‘unnecessary stress’ to Ukrainian refugees due to continuing problems with the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Ms Green in particular highlighted the plight of children, pointing to a "pattern of errors and delays whenever children are involved.”
Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, she explained: “The failure to link families' cases is causing additional and unnecessary stress for people who are already terrified, traumatised and exhausted.
"There must be a better way of ensuring children are dealt with alongside their parents, so that they are not incorrectly marked as unaccompanied minors and unfairly delayed."
The MP also urged the government to clarify their policy on minors travelling without their parents in cases where parental permission has been provided.
Referencing the case of a 17-year-old boy hoping to travel to Buckinghamshire with his 22-year-old sister, Ms Green commented: "We were instructed to obtain an official parental letter of consent and passport scans. We were told the case was being escalated, and it seemed like progress was being made.
"Yet after weeks of back and forth with Home Office staff and multiple visits to the Portcullis House hub, we were told the documents were not legally binding and that the case should not be progressed any further until the policy decision was made by the Home Secretary. That was on 13th May.
"It has been reported that a policy decision has now been taken on unaccompanied minors, and I am sure that I am not the only Member keen to hear the detail of that decision, hopefully, today."
Sharing the story of a mother who was stuck in Warsaw with her two children for eight weeks, and another who travelled from Lviv to collect visas for her family only to be told that her children's documents were not ready, the Liberal Democrat MP called on the government to improve the system so that more families are not faced with the same challenges.
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