GMB viewers slam £350 incentive to take in Ukraine refugees

GMB viewers slam £350 incentive to take in Ukraine refugees. Viewers have said that the payment is just “not enough”.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Sajid Javid appeared on Good Morning Britain and told viewers that he did not have enough time to be a good host, so would not be taking in any Ukrainian refugees. Viewers soon entered a heated debate over the matter.

Viewers commented that the monthly payment of £350 to welcome refugees into the home is not enough.

Due to the ongoing cost of living crisis and increasing energy bills, the refugee support scheme seems to come up short in its offering of help. The UK government is offering a monthly payment of £350 to anyone taking in refugees. The amount is the same regardless of how many people are taken in.

Sajid Javid told hosts Richard Madeley and Susanna Reid:  “Well my understanding is that the website from the scheme, it’s an online process which will help to streamline it and quicken it but it will open for expressions of interest today.

“We’re working with a number of refugee charities that will be able to link up families with potential hosts and I think that later this week, Michael Gove will set this out later this week, the full application process.”

He went on to add: “It will take a bit of time and I know you’ll probably have me up again on your programme in a couple of weeks and you’ll say why is it taking so long…”

Javid was asked if he would be welcoming any refugees into his home. He commented: “it would be hard to offer the time that I think a host would reasonably be expected to have available to help a family integrate into British society.”

Viewers quickly hit back on social media. One person said: “On #GMB Sajid Javid says it ‘would be hard to offer the time that I think a host would reasonably be expected to have available to help a family integrate into British society’ when asked if he’d take in Ukrainian family.

“How much spare time does he think working families have?

‘”I don’t have the time,’ isn’t a great excuse for a government minister to have for not taking in a Ukrainian family, as if the families who do are wealthy enough to not have to work.”

Another person posted: “£350 would pay for one months gas and electric #gmb”

A third viewer stated: “So a single person offering spare rooms to a refugee family gets £350 but has to subsidize the family for other costs? Loss of single person council tax, heating, electric, food etc? Unfortunately I couldn’t afford that.”

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