Families to get MORE cash for hosting Ukrainian refugees
Families to get MORE cash for hosting Ukrainian refugees as ‘thank you’ payments rise to £500 from £350 a month – but ministers almost HALVE cash for councils to provide wider help blaming economic ‘pressures’ and not enough people returning to warzone
- Payments will rise to £500 a month for refugees in UK more than a year in 2023
- Change reflects host families’ ‘ongoing support amidst the rising cost-of-living’
- Ministers are cutting almost in half the funding for councils to provide support
- The £10,500 ‘tariff’ reduced to £5,900 for anyone arrives in UK from January
- New £500m fund for councils to buy or rent homes for people fleeing conflict
Families hosting Ukrainian war refugees are to get more money to cover the cost of putting them up, the government said today.
The ‘thank you payments’ will rise from £350 to £500 a month in 2023 when those displaced by the Russian invasion have been in the UK for more than a year.
The department for Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities, Housing and Levelling-Up said the uplift was to reflect host families’ ‘ongoing support amidst the rising cost-of-living’ that has put pressure on family bills.
But at the same time, ministers are cutting almost in half the funding for councils to provide support services for Ukrainians.
The £10,500 ‘tariff’ will be reduced to £5,900 for anyone who arrives in Britain after the end of this year.
The DLUHC said the change was being made ‘in light of wider pressures on the public finances and to reflect the fact that a fraction of Ukrainian arrivals return to Ukraine’.
Extra cash will still be available for child refugees and there is also a new £500m fund for councils to buy or rent homes for people fleeing conflict, including Ukrainians and Afghans, and cut homelessness.
The ‘thank you payments’ will rise from £350 to £500 a month in 2023 when those displaced by the Russian invasion have been in the UK for more than a year, Michael Gove said
But at the same time, ministers are cutting almost in half the funding for councils to provide support services for Ukrainians.
Communities secretary Michael Gove said: ‘I am immensely proud of this country’s dynamic and heart-warming response to the aggression of Putin’s war.
‘We have stood firm with Ukraine but we owe special thanks to the tens of thousands of families across the UK who opened their homes and their hearts to Ukrainians fleeing war.
‘In recognition of their ongoing support, I’m pleased to confirm that they will see their ”thank you” payments uplifted for their second year of sponsorship.’
Both Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and the Prime Minister expressed unity over solidarity with Ukraine to end their final encounter of the year at Prime Minister’s Questions.
Sir Keir said: ‘Under the last Labour government we had fair pay for nurses and no strikes. So, I won’t be taking lectures from him about that.’
But referencing it was the last PMQs of the year, he said: ‘I want to finish this year thinking about our friends in Ukraine. As a result of Putin’s barbaric assault on their freedom, millions will spend Christmas in sub-zero temperatures without heating, electricity or hot water.
‘Their suffering is unimaginable, but their bravery is awe-inspiring. So, will the Prime Minister join me in saying that whatever other difficulties and disagreements we have across this despatch box, we are and will remain united in our unwavering support for Ukraine’s freedom, its liberty and its victory.’
Rishi Sunak said: ‘I appreciate his comments on Ukraine. It has been a point of incredible unity across this House, and indeed the country, something that we can all be proud of in our country that we have stood behind Ukraine at its hour of need.
‘This Christmas many families will be laying an extra place at their Christmas table and that speaks to the generosity and compassion of our nation, and long may that continue.’
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