DATA has revealed the number of visas which have been issued to Ukrainian refugess settling in Essex.

A list of the number of visas issued under the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme as of April 6, broken down by the local authority of the sponsor’s property, has been revealed.

The data has been published by the Home Office and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

The scheme allows Ukrainian nationals and their family members to come to the UK if they have a named sponsor.

Visas have been issued to local authorities based on the postcode of the sponsor’s address, or of the accommodation address if the applicant is not staying with the sponsor.

Not all records of visas have a postcode that has been mapped to a local authority area, but the number of records excluded is less than 1 per cent.

The data does not contain the number of visas issued through the Ukraine Family Scheme, which allows applicants to join family members or extend their stay in the UK.

The list has been ordered by the number of visas issued per local authority area, starting with the highest number.

Currently, area with the highest number of refugess is the Epping Forest district with 45.

This is closed followed by Chelmsford with 40.

The district with the lowest intake is Harlow with five.

The full list for Essex is as follows:

1. Epping Forest - 45

2. Chelmsford - 40

3. Colchester - 33

4. Braintree - 25

5. Uttlesford - 25

6. Thurrock - 20

7. Brentwood - 18

8. Southend-on-Sea - 18

9. Tendring - 15

10. Maldon - 13

11. Basildon - 9

12. Rochford - 7

13. Castle Point - 5

14. Harlow - 5

In England, the are area with the highest intake is Buckinghamshire with 151 refugees.

In addition, 35 visas have been issued under the direct sponsorship of the Scottish Government.