Thousands of Ukrainian refugees in Britain risk losing their homes without funding. Funding for the sponsors of the programme “Homes for Ukraine”, under which more than 130 thousand refugees received temporary housing, is due to end in March 2024.
The cessation of funding for the government’s Homes for Ukraine programme could create problems for Ukrainian refugees living in the UK. This is stated in a report published by the UK National Audit Office (NAO).
“As sponsorship support ceases, the risk of being left without housing will increase,” the document says.
The programme offered Britons to sponsor Ukrainian refugees on humanitarian visas and temporarily provide housing for at least six months. In exchange, residents were guaranteed an allowance of 350 pounds in the first year from the programme’s launch in March 2022, and 500 pounds in the following 12 months. Payments were made from the budget.
Funding for the sponsors of the programme, which has provided more than 130,000 people with temporary accommodation, is due to end in March next year – a year before the visas of the first arriving Ukrainian refugees expire, the report said.
“That is, if the hosts are not ready to accept Ukrainians without these payments or the Ministry of Social and Economic Development does not extend the thank-you payments for a third year, other accommodation solutions will be required,” the text said.
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