Friendship with Chernihiv

I returned a week ago from a visit to the Chernihiv region of Ukraine. The starting point for this was the County Council’s decision in July to establish a programme of co-operation between Kent and Chernihiv. Following the Council resolution, I was invited by the Regional Administration in Chernihiv to visit to sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the regions and to investigate a number of areas of cooperation.

I traveled with Jordan Meade, County Councillor for Gravesend East and Deputy Cabinet Member for Communities, who has worked closely with his local community to build links and supply humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, and in particular to Chernihiv. 

The County Council resolution was clear that KCC’s role in this is a coordinating one, and that as something that is not core County Council activity this cannot be a call on Council resources in any material way. In that spirit, Jordan and I traveled at our own expense. 

Chernihiv region is to the north-east of Kyiv, and borders both Russia and Belarus. (The city itself is about 60 miles from the Russian border and somewhat closer to the Belarusian border). In the early weeks of the war, the region was invaded and the city encircled, though Russian forces were then repelled. The region remains subject to attacks and air alerts. 

We spent an intensive three days with the Regional Administration, led by the Governor Vyacheslav Chaus. Our visit covered areas such as health (the city’s cardiology unit was bombed during the attacks), school and university education, cultural institutions, the business community and emergency services. We also visited the village of Yahidne, which was the site of horrific abuses when occupied by Russian soldiers, with many villagers held in cramped conditions in a school basement for weeks, as well as a children’s library that was devastated by a missile attack.

The County Council resolution identified a number of priority areas in which the Council could facilitate (but not deliver directly) links between the regions: humanitarian support; economic development and business; heritage, tourism, sport, health and the natural environment; education, skills and language. Through our visit, we established connections to take these areas forward.

And some overall impressions? It was, as I reported to Council last week, an intense and unforgettable experience. One striking feature was the apparent normality of much day to day life - and what it takes to sustain this under war conditions (schools can deliver in person learning, but have bomb shelters to sustain that; people learn to live with an assess the risks of an attack). That normality, and some hope for the future are vital to sustaining the morale of a population that has now had to live with two and a half years of devastating war. Anything our co-operation agreement can do to help that seems to me to be very worthwhile.

You can find a KCC media release on the visit here.

Kent Stands with Ukraine on invasion anniversary

Today Kent County Council, like so many organisations, communities and individuals across the country, marked the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

Amid the horror and shattering cruelty of the invasion, and the indirect impacts that the resulting economic disruption has brought home to all of us in daily life, there has also been a heartening response in this country and our allies, not least in the welcome given to Ukrainians forced to flee the conflict. In Kent, which has taken more Ukrainian guests under the Homes for Ukraine scheme than any other comparable area of the country, we have seen an extraordinary response from people across the county.

Some 4,202 people from Ukraine have been matched with 1,737 sponsors in Kent. Not all have yet come here, but 3,209 have done so. At present, 1,889 are staying with 905 sponsors; others have already done so and moved on, in some cases returning to Ukraine and in other cases moving into the private rented sector. 

Last year there was concern that, once the six month minimum period for hosting came to an end, many hosting arrangements would come to an end. KCC moved ahead of many other councils in raising the rates for payments to hosts from a flat rate £350 per month, regardless of the numbers hosted, to a higher set of rates ranging from £400 per month for hosting one Ukrainian guest to £1,000 per month for 7 or more. This seems to have had an effect; instead of 60% of hosting arrangements coming to an end after 6 months, as we feared, just 7% did so. 

This scheme was set to run through until the end of the financial year in March 2023, since there was at that time uncertainty over future provisions for the scheme. DLUHC confirmed before Christmas that there would be a continuation of the scheme into financial year 2023-24, though with reduced payments to councils but an increase (to £500) in payments to hosts of Ukrainians who have been in the country for over a year. This payment does not, however, increase if there are more guests. KCC has therefore announced that we will, for the next twelve months, support hosts in line with the scheme we had previously announced, but with a higher payment (£500 rather than £400) for single guests who have been here for over 12 months. In other words, we will combine the government’s provisions with our own.

The aim of these schemes is to sustain hosting arrangements but over time many Ukrainian guests will want or need to seek other housing. We are therefore working with district councils across the county, and in particular Sevenoaks District Council, to facilitate an increasing number of moves by Ukrainian guests into the private rented sector.

Our strongest wish is that the day comes soon when our guests are able to return to a free, unified and peaceful Ukraine. But in the meantime several thousand Ukrainians are becoming a valued part of the Kent community, and it is good to be able to support that. 

You can find the KCC media release on this here.

KCC response to the Ukraine crisis

The last few days have seen strong interest in how councils respond to the horrendous events in Ukraine, and to President Putin’s aggression against that country. Over the last weekend, I asked our most senior officers to review all our operations and supply chain, both at the level of KCC and of our companies, to ensure that there was no exposure to Russian entities linked to the current regime. 

There is very little such linkage, but in the case of our energy buying company Laser (which acts on behalf of many public sector organisations) one framework does include the Russian energy giant Gazprom. This has now been suspended from the framework and will not be taking part in future  transactions. 

This review goes alongside a number of measures that we are taking to express our solidarity with Ukraine (the country’s flag now flies over County Hall) and to ensure that the County Council and its services are as protected as possible from the spillover effects of the conflict, ranging from potential cyber attacks to the financial impact of yet higher energy costs. You can find our press release about this here.