Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his Department's polices of the British Red Cross' report entitled Fearing, fleeing, facing the future: how people displaced by the conflict in Ukraine are finding safety in the UK, published on 24 February 2023.

Homes for Ukraine hosts will continue to receive £500 a month as a ‘thank you’ for their ongoing support for their Ukrainian guests for a third year of sponsorship. We are also launching a £450 million third round of the Local Authority Housing Fund to help provide a new, permanent supply of accommodation for local communities.

The ‘thank you’ payments have been extended for a further year to reflect the continued generosity of sponsors in hosting guests from Ukraine over a longer period of time than anyone expected, and to ensure that those wishing to provide ongoing sanctuary can do so as the conflict continues.

More generally, government is increasing the Local Housing Allowance to cover the 30th percentile of local rents. This will help make housing costs more affordable for private renters in receipt of benefits. 1.6 million low-income households will be better off, with an average gain of £800 in 2024-25. Rates will be raised across Great Britain in April 2024.

£120 million is also being made available across the UK, to help councils with Ukraine and homelessness pressures. Local authorities will be able to use some of this funding to support Ukrainian households who can no longer remain in sponsorship to help access settled accommodation.