Decision details

Date of Decision:

25 January 2023

Title:

HOMES FOR UKRAINE FUNDING ALLOCATION – UPDATE

Decision Maker:

(Including Job Title)

Jo Brown, Assistant Chief Executive

Details of Specific Cabinet Delegation

or Delegation contained in the relevant Sub-Scheme of Delegation.

Further to the Officer Decision taken on the 12^th August and the update provided to Cabinet on the 19^th September, this provides further details on the use of the Homes for Ukraine funding allocation.

This is in accordance with the Assistant Chief Executive Sub-Scheme of Delegation - to incur expenditure and to generate and collect income in line with Finance and Procurement Procedure Rules and within approved revenue and capital estimates.

Decision:

That of the £10,500 allocated to the Council from Government for each arrival (before January 2023) under the Homes for Ukraine scheme:

·       A proportion of the funding is used to enable a pipeline of private rented sector (PRS) properties to be secured by in effect topping up housing benefit to meet market rents, with a supporting furniture package in place, as required.

·       A top-up of an additional £150 per month is provided to hosts between January and March 2023 to support them with the rising costs of energy over the winter months.

Reasons for the Decision:

Supporting those at risk of becoming homeless

It is anticipated that the use of the private rented sector (PRS) is likely to be required to meet the housing needs of Ukrainian guests leaving sponsored homes under the Homes for Ukraine scheme. This has already occurred in a small number of occasions within the borough as the initial six-month commitment came to an end.

Therefore, it is proposed that a proportion of the Homes for Ukraine funding that the authority is awarded from government is used to enable a pipeline of PRS properties to be secured, with a supporting furniture package put in place as required.

Grant funding of £10,500 per refugee is available for the Homes for Ukraine scheme, and total grant based on current numbers is estimated to be circa £1.3m. From this grant, an allocation of £438k has been set aside to support potential homelessness applications and this funding will be utilised to develop this PRS pipeline to be established.  

Supporting hosts with energy costs

A number of hosts have highlighted concerns to the Council that they are struggling financially to support the guests they are housing with the current £350 per month. The latest Government guidance states that after a guest has been in the UK for 12 months, the payment to their host will increase to £500 per month. However, this will not provide additional financial support to hosts over the winter months amidst rising energy costs. It is therefore proposed that in the interim until the end of March, given the higher costs of energy and the need for it over the winter months, an additional £150 per month will be paid to hosts (and where the guest must be in residence in the sponsor property to be eligible for the payment).

Details of alternative options considered and rejected:

The option of doing nothing was considered but discounted. Without the development and use of a PRS pipeline there is a significant risk that this would increase the number of families in temporary accommodation. This would increase the complexities of the families involved in successfully integrating within the borough. It would also place additional pressures on the target within the Council’s Year Ahead Delivery Plan, to reduce the number of homeless people housed in temporary accommodation to 95 households.

Meanwhile, given the pressures arising for hosts as a consequence of rising living costs the Council, has had feedback the £350 payment they receive is financially challenging. Without intervention there is a risk that hosts will cease to participate in the scheme, meaning guests need to be moved into their own accommodation or to another host.

Conflicts of interest declared by any Cabinet Member consulted by the decision maker which relates to the decision:

None – consultation taken place with the Leader of the Council.

Dispensations Granted:

(If any)

None

Reports or parts of reports considered

Jo Brown, Assistant Chief Executive, Homes for Ukraine Funding Allocation, 12^th August 2022

Judith Badger, Strategic Director of Finance and Customer Services, July Financial Monitoring 2022/23, Cabinet, 19 September 2022