Cllr Kathy Williams, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care Delivery, sought Cabinet approval to utilise Homes for Ukraine (HFU) Scheme grant funding received by the council from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) to increase host payments from April 2023 to encourage the continuation of sponsorship arrangements, and to provide housing incentives to help Ukrainian guests transition to the next phase of the HFU scheme.
Having considered all of the information, Cabinet noted the report and
RESOLVED to
Approve the following allocations of the £10,500 per guest tariff funding (£5,900 for each guest arrival from 1st January 2023) from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in the form of the HFU Scheme Section 31 Grant, in addition to the allocations previously agreed by Cabinet/Cabinet Members and detailed in the Background Documents:
1. Up to £972,600 to all existing and new hosts participating in the Homes for Ukraine Scheme, under which each such host shall receive a host payment of £600 per month from 1st April 2023 until 31st March 2024, as outlined in Appendix 1 of this report. Such funding will be authorised by the County Council for each host and administered retrospectively by the relevant District Council.
2. Up to £991,620 to Ukrainian guests pursuant to a new ‘deposit and rent in advance’ scheme, under which each guest group shall, from 1st April 2023 for a maximum of two years, be eligible to receive a standard 5-week deposit and month’s rent in advance, to assist them in moving to the Private Rental Sector (PRS) as outlined in Appendix 2 of this report. Such funding shall be allocated by the County Council following completion of satisfactory checks by the relevant District Council, as detailed in this report.
3. Up to £710,395 to hosts participating in the Homes for Ukraine Scheme in order to promote the government’s “Rent a Room” scheme by incentivising hosts and guests to end their Homes for Ukraine arrangement and transition into a private arrangement after at least twelve months have elapsed by providing:
(a) hosts with a month’s rent in advance on behalf of guests; and
(b) a £500 gift payment per household to hosts, from 1st April 2023 for a maximum of two years as outlined in Appendix 3 of this report. Such funding shall be allocated by the County Council following completion of satisfactory checks by the relevant District Council, as detailed in this report.