Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the updated Homes for Ukraine Scheme on Ukrainian refugees' ability to access housing.

Thank you payments have been extended for the full 18-month period under Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme to support Homes for Ukraine guests to remain in sponsorship and to thank sponsors for their continued generosity.

We hope that the extension of this support will provide enough time for guests and sponsors to plan for next steps, including to secure independent accommodation if needed or convert a sponsorship to a lodging arrangement.

To fund this support and ensure it is affordable within government budgets, from 1 April 2025, all thank you payments will be paid at a rate of £350 per month for all sponsors of guests on Homes for Ukraine and UPE visas, regardless of how long guests have been in the UK.

We are signposting sponsors to the Government’s ‘rent a room’ scheme for those who wish to convert their sponsorship to a lodging arrangement. If sponsors move to an arrangement where they charge rent, they will no longer be eligible for thank you payments.

Councils receive a tariff of £5,900 per Homes for Ukraine arrival in their area to support guests to rebuild their lives and fully integrate into communities. Councils have the flexibility to use the funding to support households as best suits the local area. This could include measures to support guests to access employment, English language provision and provide integration measures that support Ukrainians to access private rented accommodation.

We engage closely with councils and the voluntary and community sector to ensure that we understand the needs of Ukrainians living in the UK and that adequate support is available. We continue to closely monitor the homelessness pressures relating to Ukrainian homelessness and separately publish statistics here: Homelessness management information - Ukrainian nationals: England - GOV.UK