Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Ukraine war: UK households offered £350 a month for hosting refugees

Ukraine war: UK households offered £350 a month for hosting refugees

Households in the UK will be offered £350 a month to open their homes to people fleeing the war in Ukraine.

Housing Secretary Michael Gove told the BBC tens of thousands of people could come to the UK under the scheme and he may offer a room to a refugee.

But the Refugee Council is concerned about the level of support for those traumatised by war.

Labour said there were unanswered questions, accusing the government of "dragging its feet" over the crisis.

Under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, people will be able to nominate a named individual or a family to stay with them rent-free, or in another property, for at least six months. A website to express an interest in being a sponsor will launch on Monday.

Mr Gove also told the BBC's Sunday Morning programme the government was looking at using the properties of Russian oligarchs sanctioned by the UK for "humanitarian purposes" but there was "quite a high legal bar" and this measure would lapse as sanctions ended.

Retailers Sainsbury's, Marks & Spencer and Morrisons are among the UK companies offering to employ Ukrainian refugees.

Asos said it wanted to attract Ukraine's strong technology engineering skill set, while soap shop Lush said it would open up internal vacancies to refugees.

Addressing a rally outside Downing Street on Sunday, Ukraine's ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko, called for more support, weapons and humanitarian assistance.

Local authorities will also receive £10,500 in extra funding per refugee for support services - with more for children of school age, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said.

More than 2.5 million people have so far fled Ukraine because of Russia's invasion, in what the UN has called the fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War Two.

The government has faced criticism - including from its own MPs - over the speed and scale of its response.

Defending the government's response, Mr Gove told the BBC the number of Ukrainians fleeing the war who had been granted visas had now risen to 3,000.

There is no sign of any end to the war in Ukraine, now in its 18th day


At the moment, only those fleeing the conflict who have family connections in the UK are able to make an application via the Ukraine Family Scheme. Other visas are available but application centres in Ukraine are closed.

Under the new scheme sponsors in the UK will not be required to know the refugees in advance and there will be no limit on numbers. Ukrainians on the scheme will be given leave to remain for three years, with the right to work and access public services.

Mr Gove told the BBC that he anticipated "tens of thousands" of Ukrainians might be taken in by UK families with the first arrivals "within a week".

Applications will be made online, with both sponsors being vetted and refugees having to go through security checks. The sponsor will get a "thank you" payment of £350 a month.

Asked if he would take a Ukrainian refugee into his home, Mr Gove said "yes" and that he was "exploring what I can do".

"Without going into my personal circumstances, there are a couple of things I need to sort out - but yes," he added.

In a later phase of the scheme, organisations such as charities and churches will also be able to sponsor refugees, though there is no start date for this yet.


Two weeks since it was announced, we now have some details of the scheme allowing people to host refugees in their homes.

The idea is a simple one, but the practicalities of matching those fleeing Russia's invasion with willing households in the UK won't be easy.

Aiming to place people with hosts within a fortnight is ambitious and the system is untested.

Ministers are keen to avoid using hotels or other temporary accommodation used by Afghans last year, and are adamant that security checks should stay in place on those fleeing Ukraine.

But for some Conservative MPs, let alone Labour and other opposition parties, the government's response has fallen short.

And it's no accident that Michael Gove - and not the Home Secretary Priti Patel - is fronting the latest efforts to smooth out and speed up the process of settling people in the UK.

What ministers have described as a cross-government approach has looked at times like inter-departmental wrangling over who's best placed to get things done.

The Refugee Council - a charity supporting refugees and asylum seekers in the UK - said it was concerned people from Ukraine were facing further "bureaucratic hurdles", and the government scheme fell short of what was needed.

Claiming formal refugee status, or permission to stay for humanitarian reasons through the asylum system, does not require a visa and allows an applicant and their dependants to stay in the UK for five years, with the right to work, study and apply for benefits.

Why I want to share my home with a Ukrainian refugee


For the third time in a year, John Rutherford and his wife Sue are considering opening up their south London house to a refugee.

"We have a big house, my kids have left home," says John. "It's not a great hardship for us to make some space for a refugee."

John Rutherford and his wife have previously hosted refugees from Ethiopia and Iran


In 2021, they hosted one person from Ethiopia and one from Iran, each for a couple of weeks while they awaited longer-term accommodation during the asylum application process.

And now, he is ready to open his five-bedroom house again.

"It was the sheer numbers involved that made me want to help... there could be four or five million people looking for places to stay, so the UK has to do its bit and the British people have to do their bit."

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told Sky News the government's visa schemes have been "too slow, too narrow, too mean", adding that the government had not consulted local councils about the support that needs to be put in place.

"Frankly the last few weeks have been an embarrassment to the United Kingdom in terms of refugees," he said.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has said Home Secretary Priti Patel should be sacked for the government's response to Ukrainian refugees.

"The incompetence, indifference and sheer inhumanity we have seen from the home secretary does not befit our United Kingdom, with its proud history of providing sanctuary to those in need," he told the party's spring conference in York.

A government spokesperson responded to Sir Ed's comments by saying "the facts do not support these accusations", and repeating a claim that the UK had "resettled more refugees through safe and legal routes than any other European country" since 2015.

As BBC Reality Check reported this week, while this specific claim is true, the overall picture is very different - as some other European countries have taken in far more refugees than the UK since 2015.


The first ministers of Scotland and Wales have written to the UK government to propose that their nations go further with the new scheme.

The European Union is allowing Ukrainians three-year residency without a visa, but the UK says controls on entry are essential for security.

The Republic of Ireland's prime minister Micheal Martin told the BBC's Sunday Morning show that his country had taken in 5,500 Ukrainian refugees but had not carried out any security checks on entry.

Meanwhile, celebrities including actors Benedict Cumberbatch and Stephen Graham have shown their support for Ukraine at the Bafta Awards 2022, under way in central London.


Watch: UK government minister says he is looking into using sanctioned oligarchs' houses for refugees


AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
×