Homes for Ukraine
Monday, 2 November 2026
Contributions
Martin Wrigley (Newton Abbot) (LD)Liberal Democrat
3. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of reducing the value of thank you payments under the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme on the retention of hosts.
The Minister for Homelessness, Democracy, Communities and Faith (Florence Eshalomi)Labour (Co-op)
We are grateful to everyone who has opened their home to Ukrainians. Over £1.8 billion has supported the scheme. Funding changes for Homes for Ukraine are sustainable; thank you payments continue recognition of a host’s generosity, and host retention depends on individual decisions and cannot be reliably estimated. Our councils retain the funding for re-matching and homelessness prevention.
With the dropping of the thank you payment from £350 to £100 on 1 January, many hosts find that their costs are no longer being covered and are considering evicting their guests. Hosts and guests are being encouraged to move to a lodger scheme using the “rent a room” scheme. I am told that the going rate for a room in my constituency is around £600, and universal credit would pay a lot more than the £350 saved from the thank you payment. In addition, Ukrainian guests would lose the help available from the local authority to move on to a first private rental. All in all, this reduction in the thank you payment looks likely to cost the state more than it might save and to reduce the help on offer to our Ukrainian guests. Will the Minister meet me and local Ukrainian hosts, or would she prefer to think again about the reduction?
The Government remain committed to supporting Ukrainians in the long term. The funding changes are designed to ensure the long-term sustainability of the scheme. Councils can retain flexibility for funding and re-matching and for looking at homelessness prevention, including by helping guests to find accommodation and overcome any barriers to private renting. Existing host arrangements can move to lodging or rental agreements, and we will continue to monitor any issues around homelessness and will work with councils to respond as pressures emerge.
Source: UK Parliament Hansard API. Debate ID: 5429430.