NAO: Important decisions to be made on Homes for Ukraine scheme

According to a new National Audit Office report, clarification is needed about the future funding and sponsorship arrangements for more than 130,000 people helped under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

Jointly run by the Home Office (HO) and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), the scheme enables people in the UK to act as sponsors for Ukrainian nationals and their families seeking refuge from the war, with individuals being granted three-year visas to stay in the UK, with full access to public services, benefits, and other support. It has successfully supported 131,000 Ukrainians arriving into the UK since March 2022 with £2.1bn in funding.

The visas for the first Ukrainians to arrive under the scheme will expire in Spring 2025. It is unclear whether government intends to extend existing three-year visas.

The NAO report acknowledges that targets under the scheme for preventing homelessness among Ukrainians have so far been met, but it urges ministers to provide more certainty about any future funding to avoid thousands being made homeless next year.

Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO, said:

“The government will soon need to take important decisions about the future of the scheme, including whether to extend visas beyond three years, and whether to extend funding for local authorities and sponsors, which currently finishes before visas expire. It will also need to carefully monitor key risks such as safeguarding, and the threat of homelessness as sponsorships end.”

In December 2022 DLUHC announced £650 million of additional funding to local authorities in recognition of the increased risk of homelessness: a Local Authority Housing Fund (LAHF) of £500 million to acquire housing stock, predominantly for Ukrainians; and, an additional £150 million for homelessness prevention across the UK.

Local authorities must spend any money allocated under the LAHF and homelessness prevention before the end of March 2024. So far, local authorities have acquired 905 additional homes, and DLUHC are currently forecasting that they will acquire a total of 3,365 by the end of 2023-24, with 2,880 expected to be used to house Ukrainians.

Responding to the report, Cllr Kevin Bentley, Senior Vice-Chairman of the Local Government Association said:

“Councils are doing an excellent job of working with local people and partners to keep 189,600 Ukrainian refugees safe and supported across the UK.

“However, it remains a huge concern that there is no funding for councils beyond the first year and no funding for the 54,900 people that arrived via the family visa route.

“There are also serious concerns around the growing number of Ukrainians presenting as homeless, particularly those families facing the uncertainty of temporary accommodation.

“We want to work with government to review and confirm funding to ensure all families are helped to find permanent homes, jobs and schools and how best to support new and existing sponsors to open up their homes.

“This is alongside the need for urgent and joint solutions to pressing housing needs, given the growing demand from across all the schemes that welcome new arrivals to the UK, as well as broader increases in homelessness and housing pressures locally.”