Refugees - How will our finances cope?

Galaxy

Imagine wanting to send your child to a school that would turn away vulnerable traumatised children.

The schools won't turn them away! But once schools are full children will be transported out of their home village because it's full. It's already happening even before the Ukrainian families come.

Yes I know it's the greedy developers and local councilors who are to blame, but none of this helps the families who already struggle. Libraries have closed, banks have closed, public transport is all but none existent. Even if parents have cars (not all do) the price of fuel will make transporting children to a school miles away very difficult.

Who would win in a fight? the feelings of the fee paying parents or the feelings of child refugees fleeing a war torn country?

Some of the comments on this thread are amazingly crass, even for Gransnet

Can those fee paying schools offer free places to all the kids who might benefit from them as well? We could have a system whereby everybody gets the education that they need, not dependent on how much money mum and dad have.

Oh, wait....

I'm not sure how the fee paying parents would feel about free places being offered to host children and refugees.
Private schools should offer free places to any families at the school who have chosen to accommodate refugee children Marmadroit. They have a moral duty as a charity.

Some say charity begins at home. Well yes, but it doesn’t have to stop there.

And haven’t the government promised Councils £10k anyway towards schooling & healthcare for each Ukrainian family who reside in the borough? Seems fair to me.

JaneJudge

Children pick up foreign language really quickly and there are already courses both online and in colleges that teach English as a second language.

As everyone else is enjoying a good game of whataboutery, our village school will close unless we get more pupils

I can't for the life of me understand how the relatively small number of refugees this country will take will make any difference at all.

If you want to be angry, be angry at our wasteful government not people who cannot help themselves.

Good post !
Children do pick up languages very quickly.

Imagine wanting to send your child to a school that would turn away vulnerable traumatised children.

I work in schools and am a governor at another, I am watching the school staff run around organising fundraising for Ukraine and offering to be part of a group who will offer practical to the refugees if/when they come to our area. Their ethos has always been one of kindness and support to vulnerable groups, its why I sent my son there.

Children pick up foreign language really quickly and there are already courses both online and in colleges that teach English as a second language.

As everyone else is enjoying a good game of whataboutery, our village school will close unless we get more pupils

I can't for the life of me understand how the relatively small number of refugees this country will take will make any difference at all.

If you want to be angry, be angry at our wasteful government not people who cannot help themselves.

volver

Gelleh

Companies like Bupa, and Aviva should offer free private health care to any household accommodating refugees. That would be a start.

No Gelleh, because that would be weird.

You don't get preferential healthcare just because you're kind hearted. Any more than you should miss out on it because you have a small home.

Yes agree this would be unfair. It's not just healthcare that will be affected. How about the schools. Around us the primary schools are all full to bursting already with children from the new build estates. They can't cope with another influx of children. I'm not sure how the fee paying parents would feel about free places being offered to host children and refugees.

Of course the state schools will just have to cope with the traumatised children who speak little/no english. I worry about the just managing families we have already. Space will be made at the local schools because the refugee children's immediate needs are greater. This will mean other children will be taxied out to other areas. These will 4/5 year olds not getting places at their local primary, or families with siblings at primary schools miles apart.

I had a Ukrainian student a few years ago who spoke 5 languages. He told me his ‘best’ language was Russian but that he wasn’t unusual as they were taught multiple languages at his school.
He spoke and wrote better English than my English students and had a great work ethic. If he is indicative of what the Ukrainian education system produces then I for one will welcome refugees staying here for good.
The UK has a skills deficit that companies are struggling to fill, it’s why we have to recruit IT professionals and engineers from overseas and why there is so much funding for STEM centres. I feel that financially there may be some short term pain but long term gains if we welcome Ukrainians here.

LilyoftheValley

MerylStreep. Benefits, housing , free healthcare perhaps? I am nearing retirement age and see a really bleak future.

The economy is not a zero-sum game, and a national economy is very different entity from a business.

On average incomers enrich the country financially, they don't impoverish it.

MawtheMerrier

I wonder why anybody should think that Ukrainian refugees are all going to sit on their bums living off handouts (including the benefits to which they are fully entitled )
Many will be people with professions, skills , talents and seeking to establish their independence by trying to continue in their field of work as well as giving something back to society. And I am NOT talking about fruit or veg picking!
We do not have massive unemployment at present in the UK but a severe skills shortage .
So perhaps we could look at it from the opposite point of view instead?

Agree

As Great Britain is the 5th richest country in the world I am sure we will cope.

If we were facing an invasion the chances are that those with the finances and skills would find leaving easier than those on low incomes and doing relatively unskilled work.

One DD Is in software development. There is a permanent skill shortage and her company outsources quite a large amount of work to partners in Poland. There are plenty of very well paid jobs for professionals in this field.

I wonder why anybody should think that Ukrainian refugees are all going to sit on their bums living off handouts (including the benefits to which they are fully entitled )
Many will be people with professions, skills , talents and seeking to establish their independence by trying to continue in their field of work as well as giving something back to society. And I am NOT talking about fruit or veg picking!
We do not have massive unemployment at present in the UK but a severe skills shortage .
So perhaps we could look at it from the opposite point of view instead?

LotV - how did you manage to donate physical items such as duvets, blankets, etc.

I have tried, but can't find a charity - they all seem to want the money. We're just in the process of downsizing so I'm banking on us having quite a lot of stuff to donate.

To be frank, if the Tory friends and family gave back the millions (billions?) they pocketed during lockdown for inadequate or unsupplied services, it'd be enough to cover these costs.

But no. It'll be us, from our taxes, as always.

They haven’t come to stay they will return to their country once the problems cease

vegansrock

Maybe this means governments should be funding our public services - schools, hospitals, police, social care, properly and not be content with cutting things to the verge of collapse, whilst energy companies, big pharmaceuticals, banks etc take billions in profits. If we actually had decent public services which people could rely on then most would be happier to share. We are one of the most unequal societies in Europe with vast areas of wealth running along side people sleeping in doorways. But hey, that’s what people voted for.

Agree

Maybe sometime these companies would pay more taxes. Less money wasted on systems that don’t work etc. etc.

Of course, with this government pigs might also fly! It just goes to show that letting the market decide is not a good thing!

Thank you all for your support. I am not blaming the refugees, they deserve as much help as possible.

I have been in touch with our MP, etc., but they have not been much help. My DH is classed as non urgent. We have a friend who cycled every day until his operation, another who played table tennis, but they walked in and got their operations.

I think it would have been more realistic to go private if it had been just one hip operation, but two is not possible.

The whole situation has been very stressful and depressing.

Totally agree with Volver and GagaJo. These people need help. I hope we never become a country that turns its back on those in need.

snowberryZ

FindingNemo15

I too am worried about the NHS with the extra people that will be using it. My DH has two broken hips, cannot walk, has fallen three times and has been waiting for an operation for almost a year!

That's a fairly valid worry.
Your poor husband must be in a lot of pain.
I sympathise.
Not everybody has rhe money to go private.

The situation that your husband is in is dreadful, but please do not blame this on the Ukrainian refugees or on covid, these two situations are being used by the Tory government and their apologists. The truth is the NHS was being systematically and slowly run down before both, however, this does not, of course, help you and your husband. I can only suggest that you constantly nag your MP, your local councillors, anyone you can think of. I hope you get this sosrted.

Totally agree with Volver and GagaJo. These poor people need help. I hope we never become a country that turns its back on those in need.