The government has called on more people to take in Ukrainian refugees on the sixth month anniversary of the Russian invasion of the country.
But ministers have not announced any additional financial support for UK hosts who take part in the Homes for Ukraine scheme, despite warnings that the cost of living crisis is deterring people from signing up or continuing to participate.
Monthly payments to hosts of Ukrainian refugees should double to £700 to help them to provide housing for more than six months due to rising costs, the minister responsible has said.
Launching the appeal for new hosts, refugees minister Lord Harrington said: “I would urge anyone who has the room to come forward and join thousands of others in providing a safe haven for people forced to leave their country.”
The plea coincides with a series of events across the UK to mark the sixth month anniversary of the war and the31st anniversary of Ukraine’s declaration of independence.
UK landmarks including the London Eye, Blackpool Tower, and Wembley Arch were lit up in Ukraine’s national colours, yellow and blue, on Tuesday evening, with the display due to be repeated on Wednesday evening.
The prime minister, Boris Johnson, said: “However long it takes, the United Kingdom will stand with Ukraine and provide every possible military, economic and humanitarian support.”
Earlier Harrington said he had been lobbying the Treasury “very hard” to double the £350-a-month “thank you” payment for sponsors who house refugees for longer than six months.
“The costs … they’re paying may be 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,” he told PA Media.
His call came amid soaring living costs – with energy bills expected to rise by 80% going into winter -rocketing inflation and rising interest rates.
Councils have also warned that homelessness could rise if refugees’ initial six-month placements with hosts end without alternative options in place.
More than 115,000 Ukrainians have arrived in the UK under its visa schemes, according to latest government figures, including about 81,700 refugees via the sponsorship scheme.
Harrington said about 4,000-5,000 Ukrainians were arriving in the UK each week.
The Homes for Ukraine scheme currently gives guests a £200 welcome payment and hosts £350 a month as a “thank you” payment for supporting the refugees. Councils also receive £10,500 under the scheme.
An Office for National Statistics survey commissioned by Harrington this month found that the majority of hosts said the rising cost of living was hindering their ability to support Ukrainian refugees.
Almost a quarter (23%) of sponsors who said they would only be hosting a refugee for six months or less said their decision to not continue with the scheme was because they could no longer afford to.
Just under four in 10 (38%) said they would be encouraged to be a host for longer if more support was on offer.
The Sanctuary Foundation, a charity which helps to support hosts and refugees, is launching a campaign, Not Too Late To Host, with the Opora network, which is helping Ukrainians to reach the UK, to encourage more people to become sponsors.
Sanctuary Foundation director, Dr Krish Kandiah, said the need for hosts is “even more desperate” now.
He said: “Neighbouring countries are struggling to cope. This is why we are urging more British people to welcome Ukrainians into their homes.”
Meanwhile, the British Red Cross has also called on the government to provide financial support to people who have signed up to the Ukraine Family Scheme, where British-Ukrainian residents support their family who have left the nation since the invasion in February. Currently, they do not receive any government payments.
Richard Blewitt, executive director of the British Red Cross, said: “We’re encouraging the UK government to step up its financial support given the scale of the economic crisis here in the UK and the cost of living crisis, particularly for the hosts.
“With the Ukraine Family Scheme, maybe the government is going to have to chip in a bit to help those families also who are hosting many Ukrainians.”
