Homes for Ukraine scheme (2022-23) sponsorship household thank you payment grant determination No. 31/6351 (England)
Published 23 November 2022
© Crown copyright 2022
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/homes-for-ukraine-funding-june-to-august-2022/homes-for-ukraine-scheme-2022-23-sponsorship-household-thank-you-payment-grant-determination-no-316351-england
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 sponsor thank you grant No. 31/6351.
Purpose of the grant
2. The main purpose of the Homes for Ukraine sponsor thank you grant is to support local authorities to make monthly thank you payments of £350 direct to sponsoring households within the scheme for 12 months, or for up to 3 years where relevant for children and minors not travelling with or joining their parent or guardian in the UK. These payments are optional for the sponsoring household and are payable from the date of arrival with a host.
3. A reconciliation process will be conducted at the end of the 2022-23 financial year.
Determination
4. 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.
5. The grant will be paid in arrears based on the number of legitimate payments made by local authorities to eligible sponsors who have met the requirements for approval as part of the Homes for Ukraine scheme. Payments will be made every quarter for 1 year or for up to 3 years where relevant for children and minors not travelling with or joining their parent or guardian in the UK.
6. In two tier areas, the grant will be paid to upper tier authorities.
Grant conditions
7. 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 B.
HM Treasury consent
8. Before making this determination in relation to local authorities, the Secretary of State obtained the consent of HM Treasury. Signed by authority of the Secretary of State.
Emma Payne
Director, Homes for Ukraine Programme
Annex A: Grant allocations
Grant allocations are attached as a separate document.
Annex B: 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:
- Payments to sponsors should only be paid in accordance with circumstances set out in the Homes for Ukraine guidance for councils (linked at Annex C) and should not be released until:
a. For sponsors of guests arriving on the Homes for Ukraine scheme:
- a visit to the sponsoring household property, by the local authority, has been completed; and
- the local authority has confirmed that the accommodation is suitable, that the guest is well and that there are no serious safeguarding or welfare concerns.
b. For sponsors of children and minors not travelling with or joining their parent or guardian arriving on the Homes for Ukraine scheme:
- all safeguarding and accommodation checks have been completed including the council-led sponsor suitability assessment, and the council has confirmed that the arrangement is suitable based on the factors set out in the guidance, and;
- the council has completed the initial post-arrival visit, consistent with the requirements set out in the scheme and private fostering guidance, confirming the suitability of the living arrangements and establishing any immediate welfare needs.
2. A recipient authority must ensure thank you payments to eligible sponsoring households who request them are made as soon as practicable.
3. Where the amount of grant paid to an authority in accordance with Annex A exceeds the authority’s actual pressures (based on the number of legitimate payments to eligible sponsorship households in their area), the difference shall be repaid to the Secretary of State. In addition, if the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is made aware that an authority is in breach of the grant conditions above, it reserves the right to recover funding. There will be a reconciliation process at the end of the 2022-23 financial year.