Guidance

Homes for Ukraine scheme (2023-24) local authority eligible minors in care tariff payment grant determination (No. 31/6903) (England)

Published 31 October 2023

The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (“Secretary of State”) in exercise of the powers conferred by section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003, makes the following determination: 

Citation 

1. This determination may be cited as the Homes for Ukraine Eligible Minors in Care tariff grant No. 31/6903.

Purpose of the grant 

2. The government will provide funding to support local authorities with costs arising from cases where eligible children’s sponsorship arrangements break down after arrival in the UK, and children are placed into the care of a local authority, at a rate of £64,150 per child per year (for the first year), pro-rated at a weekly rate. Detail at Annex B.

Determination 

3. The Secretary of State determines the authorities to which grant is to be paid and the amount of grant to be paid as set out in Annex A of this determination.

4. The £64,150 care allowance will be paid in arrears using the existing quarterly payment process. Funding will be pro-rated at a weekly rate.

5. In two tier areas, the grant will be paid to upper tier authorities.  

Grant conditions 

6. Pursuant to section 31(5) of the Local Government Act 2003, the Secretary of State determines that the grant will be paid subject to the following conditions in Annex C.   

HM Treasury consent 

7. Before making this determination in relation to local authorities, the Secretary of State obtained the consent of HM Treasury.

8. Signed by authority of the Secretary of State. 

Emma Payne

Director, Homes for Ukraine Programme

Annex A: Summary of grant allocations

Grant allocations are attached as a separate document.

Annex B: Local authority responsibilities for eligible minors in care under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme  

On 22 June 2022, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) announced an expansion to the Homes for Ukraine (HfU) scheme to allow minors under eighteen to travel to the UK without a parent or guardian. 

For the purpose of this additional funding, DLUHC considers an eligible minor to be a child or young person who has travelled to the UK without a parent/guardian on the Homes for Ukraine Unaccompanied Minors scheme, or a minor  who has come with their parent/guardian to the UK under the wider Homes for Ukraine programme but who has subsequently been left by their parent/guardian with the sponsor and/or an accompanying adult relative, as set out in the Homes for Ukraine: Guidance (children and minors applying without parents or legal guardians), (Annex D), and has therefore become unaccompanied.

The government is providing further funding to support local authorities with costs arising from cases where eligible minors’ sponsorship arrangements break down after arrival in the UK, and the minor has become looked after by the local authority.  

If the sponsorship arrangement is being discontinued for safeguarding reasons, or the arrangement otherwise breaks down and alternative arrangements cannot be made, it is expected that the local authority will accommodate that child under the duty at section 20 of the Children Act 1989 or take further necessary action in accordance with the Children Act 1989 such as taking the child into care. In these instances, the local authority would be eligible to claim the eligible minors in care tariff payment. 

Annex C: Grant conditions  

Pursuant to section 31(5) of the Local Government Act 2003, the Secretary of State determines that the grant will be paid subject to the following conditions: 

1. The recipient authority must use the funding to comply with its statutory duties in accordance with The Children Act 1989, other primary legislation, and associated regulations and guidance with respect to looked after children. 

2. The recipient authority must inform the Ukrainian Embassy at the earliest possible opportunity when a child is made the subject of a child protection plan, has required immediate protection, or is made subject to care proceedings, in accordance with the Homes for Ukraine: Guidance for councils (children and minors applying without parents or legal guardians).

3. In two tier areas, upper tier authorities must make payments to lower tier authorities in relation to all the services which they provide to eligible minors under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.

4. A recipient authority must provide regular data returns in relation to the Homes for Ukraine Scheme, as set out in guidance. For example:  

a. Entering relevant data on Foundry regularly, and at a minimum, weekly; and  

b. that Section 151 officers must sign off quarterly returns to the Department.

5. Where the amount of grant paid to a local authority exceeds the authority’s actual pressures (based on the number of guests resident in their area), the difference shall be repaid to the Secretary of State. In addition, if the Department is made aware that a local authority is in breach of the grant conditions above, it reserves the right to recover funding.