Families who host Ukrainian refugees for more than a year are to receive increased payments in recognition of their ongoing support during the cost-of-living crisis, PA Media reports.
Hosts under the Homes for Ukraine scheme will get 500 a month after their first 12 months of sponsorship, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) said.
Councils will also be given money to help prevent homelessness among arrivals and to acquire more homes for people fleeing conflict in places such as Ukraine and Afghanistan.
But the sum local authorities receive for each Ukrainian refugee who arrives into their area under the scheme will be reduced “in light of wider pressures on the public finances”, DLUHC said.
Some 107,100 Ukrainians have arrived in the UK under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, with 144,600 visas issued, latest government figures show.
DLUHC said the monthly ‘thank you payments’ to hosts will be extended from 12 months to two years.
The increase - from 350 a month for the first year to 500 a month thereafter - is less than former refugees minister Lord Harrington had been calling for. Before stepping down in September, he said he had been lobbying for the payment to be doubled to 700 after six months.
In cases where sponsorship arrangements cannot continue, councils across the UK will be given 150m to help Ukrainians move into their own homes and reduce the risk of homelessness.
It can also be used to prevent homelessness among other groups.
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