Monthly payments to sponsors of Ukrainian refugees should double to help them carry on hosting for longer than six months while the cost of living spirals, the minister responsible has said.
Around 25,000 offers of accommodation from hosts under the Homes for Ukraine scheme have been taken up so far, with an average of three Ukrainians living in each home, LordRichard Harrington said.
Six months on from the start of the Russian invasion, the Government is asking existing hosts to extend their generosity and appealing for new sponsors to step forward.
It comes amid a deepening cost-of-living crisis, with energy bills expected to soar by 80% going into winter, rocketing inflation and rising interest rates.
Are you hosting Ukrainian refugees and struggling to meet the costs? If so email holly.bancroft@independent.co.uk
Councils have also warned that homelessness could rise if initial six-month placements with hosts end without other options in place.
Lord Harrington said he has been lobbying the Treasury “very hard” to double the £350-a-month “thank you” payment for sponsors who house refugees for longer than half a year – the minimum period expected of hosts.
He said: “The costs… they’re paying maybe a big chunk of rent themselves, the mortgage payments have gone up and everything, and I think it’s perfectly reasonable, in my view, to increase the amount that we’re paying them.”
Wednesday marks six months since the start of the war in Ukraine.
More than 115,000 Ukrainians have arrived in the UK under its visa schemes, according to latest Government figures, including around 81,700 refugees under the sponsorship scheme.
Around 4-5,000 people are arriving each week, Lord Harrington said.
He said the Government has emailed everyone who initially expressed an interest in the sponsorship scheme, to see if they are still interested in taking part if they are not already hosting.
He expects roughly 50,000 of the 200,000-plus people who registered their interest initially will go on to be hosts.
In particular, the Government wants to recruit extra hosts in areas close to where refugees are currently being sponsored.
This would mean refugees are matched with new hosts nearby so they do not need to leave communities where they have started putting down roots.
Minister for Refugees Richard Harrington
“I’m not worried about the shortage of offers; I’m more concerned that they’re in the right area,” he added.
Lord Harrington said his priority is to stop people becoming homeless, and he is hoping to achieve that by encouraging hosts to continue for longer with existing placements, recruiting new sponsors, and enabling refugees to move into the private rented sector.
So far, more than 1,300 Ukrainian single households and families have been assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness as of July 29.
He said he has met with groups representing landlords to ask if they will waive reference requirements for Ukrainian refugees.
I can argue to the Treasury – it’s my job to say: ‘Well, you actually save money, because people then are not becoming homeless’
Britons opened their doors to Ukranians when Russia invaded six months ago
