First unaccompanied Ukrainian child refugee arrives in Wales

The first unaccompanied child refugee from Ukraine has arrived in Wales.

Social Justice Minister Jane Hutt said the child has a sponsor family and is being supported by a local authority and other agencies.

Around 1,000 children are expected to arrive in the UK without parents or guardians, with around 15 coming to Wales, Ms Hutt said.

UK ministers changed the rules in the summer to help unaccompanied minors fleeing the conflict in Ukraine.

Ms Hutt told the Welsh Parliament's Local Government and Housing Committee the changes meant "a child or young person could apply for a visa if they had proof of parental consent or [from] an authority approved by the Ukrainian government" under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

Answering a question from Labour Senedd member Jayne Bryant, the minister said there were "very exceptional circumstances, in terms of sponsors and arrangements" for unaccompanied child refugees.

"This week, we've just heard that the first young person has been able to come to Wales through this route," she said.

"We were anticipating about 1,000 coming through across the UK and, obviously, it does take time, their individual circumstances are very complex.

"We anticipate that, probably, in Wales, we were thinking perhaps that 15 might come, but the first one has arrived."

More than 6,000 Ukrainians sponsored by households in Wales and the Welsh government had arrived in Wales by 25 October.

In a statement to the Welsh Parliament on Tuesday, Ms Hutt said "there have been additional arrivals under the Ukraine Family Scheme, but we are not given that data by the UK government".

She added more than 8,300 visa had now been granted to people from the Ukraine with sponsors in Wales, "so we can expect the number of arrivals to continue to grow steadily in the coming weeks".

Last month the Welsh government appealed for more people to open their homes to Ukrainian refugees.