The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has announced a new funding allocation that will see local authorities and devolved administrations able to support Ukrainians in the UK into their own homes through homelessness prevention projects.
Councils will be able to use the Homes for Ukraine funding to help Ukrainian families into the private rented sector and into work, with £150 million of support being divided across the United Kingdom depending on how many Ukrainians are in the country. Local authorities have a better understanding of the community that they serve, with this putting them in the best position to deliver the support.
Splitting the funding by the number of Ukrainians in the nation will see £109 million allocated to England, £30 million to Scotland, £8 million for Wales, and approximately £2 million going to Northern Ireland.
Since the first Ukrainians were welcomed into communities, the number has risen to 124,000, with half of the working-age group finding employment and settling into their local community. This has been made easier due to their right to work, receive benefits, and access public services being available from the beginning. Alongside other measures, the Department for Transport has confirmed that the amount of time a Ukrainian refugee can drive on their home nation licence will be extended from one year, to three. This is being done in the hopes that the lives many of them have established since arriving here can be continued.
Leeds City Council has used ongoing resettlement pathways for Syrian and Afghan refugees to establish its approach for Ukrainians, as well as continuing close work with the area’s voluntary and community sectors. One way that the council is supporting refugees is through two rounds of grants, with the first going towards providing wraparound support to Ukrainians that have recently settled directly, and the other being allocated to charities and community groups that work to support refuges and those with insecure migration status across the city. A welcome hub has also been established for those who have recently arrived, with travel to and from the Ukrainian association being provided for free.
Felicity Buchan, Minister for Housing and Homelessness, said:
“The UK has an honourable tradition of offering shelter to those fleeing the horrors of war. Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of hosts in this country, over 124,000 Ukrainians have now found safety in the UK.
“Sadly, the fighting in Ukraine shows no sign of ending soon, so we are appealing for more people to become hosts while providing councils with this additional funding to support guests into long-term housing.”
All local authorities across England are to receive their allocation of funding by way of a top-up to the already established and ringfenced Homelessness Prevention Grant. Wider pressures surrounding homelessness will not be ignored, as the allocations will reflect the Homes for Ukraine arrival numbers, and existing homelessness pressures.
Devolved administrations will receive their funding at Supplementary Estimates through Budget Cover Transfer, according to the proportion of Homes for Ukraine arrivals.
