Boost for Ukrainian-guest sponsors

Herefordshire Council is providing additional funding to approved sponsors who host guests under the Homes for Ukraine scheme. The additional funding is in response to the increasing costs of goods and services. By providing the means to pay for essentials, the council also hopes to encourage sponsors to host families beyond the initial six months.

Sustaining existing relationships between the two parties allows guests to establish themselves as part of a local community. It also gives their children a better chance to settle in at school. Strengthening sponsorship arrangements also reduces potential demand for temporary accommodation and homelessness services.

The decision means each approved Homes for Ukraine sponsor will receive £350 a month for five months. The funding will be back-dated to the start of November 2022 and will run to the end of March 2023.

Meanwhile, new sponsors signing up to the Homes for Ukraine scheme will receive the payment for five months from the date their guests arrive.

The latest figures, to the end of November 2022, show that 200 Herefordshire sponsors host 539 guests who’ve arrived from Ukraine. At least another 160 guests are expected to arrive during the current funding period to March 2023. There are currently 23 Ukrainian families in temporary accommodation.

The increased offer is in line with many other UK local authorities and is fully funded by government.  

Councillor Pauline Crockett, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, says:

“Long-term, trusting and cooperative relationships help lower rates of anxiety and depression, promote higher self-esteem and greater empathy. That’s as true for people from Ukraine as it is for everyone else. We should all do all we can to help people who were forced to flee their own country, through no fault of their own, to live settled lives for as long as they wish to be in Herefordshire. I welcome the decision that supports and strengthens relationships between our guests and our hosts.”