Funding for councils: Homes for Ukraine

Since the Homes for Ukraine scheme launched in March 2022, the UK government has provided over £1.24 billion to councils through a tariff for each arrival in their area.

The government is providing funding to councils at a rate of £5,900£10,500 per person for guests who arrived afterbefore 1 January 2023 (£10,500and per£5,900 person for guests who arrived beforeafter 1 January 2023)2023 under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme. This funding will provide support to families to rebuild their lives and fully integrate into communities. RoundThis 1funding ofwill thebe £1.2available billionfor Localarrivals Authorityon Housingthe FundHomes (LAHF),for providesUkraine fundingvisa forwhich localcomes authoritiesinto toeffect obtainfrom accommodation3pm foron families19 February 2024, with housing18 needsmonths wholeave haveto arrivedremain.

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We allocate additional funding for these payments through a ringfenced grant, and we expect councils to cover administration costs within the tariff.

How payments to councils are made

The MinistryDepartment offor Housing,Levelling CommunitiesUp, Housing and LocalCommunities Government(DLUHC) (MHCLG) makes quarterly payments to councils, in arrears. On 30 June 2022 MHCLGDLUHC made the first payment to councils, to cover the months March to May. On 23 November 2022 MHCLGDLUHC made the second payment to councils, to cover months June to August. On 16 March 2023, MHCLGDLUHC made the third payment to councils, to cover the months September to November.

Payments are based on the actual number of Homes for Ukraine guests for the tariff and the actual number of ‘thank you’ payments to sponsoring households within each area and are adjusted to account for ratified rematches between local authorities and devolved administrations.

Reconciliation process

MHCLGDLUHC conductsconducted a reconciliation process at the end of eachthe 2022/23 financial year to ensure that councils received their correct entitlement for both the tariff and ‘thank you’ payments.

England including two-tier councils

In England, in two tier areas, both districts and counties have access to funds for their relevant duties under the scheme. Having engaged closely with representatives from the sector to determine the most appropriate payment mechanism, funding for both the £5,900£10,500 tariff (£10,500(£5,900 beforefrom 1 January 2023) and thank you payments will be provided to upper-tier councils.

However, in two-tier areas it is a condition of the funding that councils must agree a plan locally to:

• make prompt payments to lower-tier councils in relation to all the services which they provide to guests under the scheme, during the full duration of the scheme, including for services such as homelessness assistance for which lower-tier councils are responsible
• make an immediate payment to lower-tier councils in relation to any upfront costs

Scotland

In Scotland, councils receive the £5,900£10,500 tariff (£10,500(£5,900 beforefrom 1 January 2023) and ‘thank you’ payments directly from MHCLG,DLUHC, except in cases where the Scottish Government are currently acting as a sponsor.

Wales

In Wales, the Welsh Government receive the £5,900£10,500 (£10,500(£5,900 beforefrom 1 January 2023) tariff payments for local councils from MHCLGDLUHC and distribute this funding to Welsh councils. The ‘thank you’ payments are provided directly to Welsh councils by MHCLG,DLUHC, except in cases where the Welsh Government are currently acting as a sponsor.

Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, the Executive Office receive the £5,900£10,500 tariff (£10,500(£5,900 beforefrom 1 January 2023) and ‘thank you’ payments from MHCLG.DLUHC.

Keeping accurate records on the case management system (CMS)

We will continue to collect data relating to the programme in the CMS, through which we expect councils to upload relevant data regularly, and at a minimum, weekly.

Councils must maintain accurate records on the number of guests and sponsorship households in their area. It is critical that this data is accurately captured and reported to MHCLGDLUHC to enable payments of funding to be made.

Councils must use the tariff to meet all of their associated costs (both for providing council services to guests and for administering payments), this includes any discretionary top up to the ‘thank you’ payment. We recognise, however, that a small number of councils may incur additional essential costs above and beyond what could reasonably be regarded as normal expenditure and not available through other mainstream funding mechanisms. We will therefore consider claims for such costs on an exceptional basis only.

We ask that any council whichwho may be experiencing unmanageable pressures to contact MHCLGDLUHC in the first instance.

£150 million Homes for Ukraine Homelessness Prevention Grant Top Up

In June 2023, the allocations of £150 million additional UK-wide funding to help support Ukrainian guests move into their own homes and reduce the risk of homelessness were confirmed. Funding has been allocated across the UK in relation to the proportion of Homes for Ukraine arrivals in each part of the UK.

UK-wide allocations in summary:

• Scotland c.£30 million
• England c.£109 million
• Wales c.£8.2 million
• Northern Ireland c.£2.4 million