Correspondence

Lord Khan's letter to local authority leaders and chief executives on Homes for Ukraine changes

Published 26 November 2024

To: Local authority leaders and chief executives

From: Lord Khan of Burnley, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Faith, Communities and Resettlement

Date: 26 November 2024

Homes for Ukraine scheme – update on Ukraine Permission Extension, changes on thank you payments and update on eligible minors

Dear Leader and Chief Executive, 

Thank you for your continued support for the Homes for Ukraine scheme. We are contacting you to outline changes being made to thank you payments following the changes made by the Home Office to the Immigration Rules today.

In February 2024, the Home Office announced that Ukrainians in the UK on one of the Ukraine schemes would be able to apply for the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) visa scheme when their existing visa expired. This will grant them a further 18 months stay in the UK. The Home Office today made amendments to the Immigration Rules announcing that the scheme will be open for applications on 4 February 2025. 

Policy changes

These changes will come into effect from 1 April 2025.

Thank you payments

For Ukraine Permission Extension

To ensure that Ukrainians still in Homes for Ukraine sponsorship arrangements are supported as they transition to UPE visas, we shall be extending thank you payments for eligible hosts for the 18 months they are covered by the Visa issued under the UPE scheme. After a guest’s initial 18 month UPE period, thank you payments will discontinue.

Further funding for this period is designed to provide guests and their sponsors with time to plan to live independently and, if needed, to secure independently funded accommodation. To support this transition, we will be signposting hosts to the ‘rent a room’ scheme for those who wish to convert their lodging arrangements with their sponsors. Guests are eligible for Universal Credit for housing benefit up to the Local Housing Allowance rate to assist in these costs.

For Homes for Ukraine

To fund this support and ensure it is affordable within government budgets, all thank you payments will be paid at a flat rate of £350 per month. 

With effect from 1 April 2025, you can continue to make thank you payments to hosts where the guest remains in Homes for Ukraine sponsorship and other eligibility criteria are met. Payment should be made at a rate of £350 a month. When an HFU guest moves on to a UPE visa, we ask that you invite the sponsor to make a new claim for payment. All thank you payments made during the UPE visa period should be at the rate of £350 a month for a maximum of eighteen months.

We would be grateful if you would share this information with sponsors who are currently hosting guests under HfU. We will also be writing to them separately.

Local authority tariff

For new arrivals in 2025/26 local authorities will continue to receive the £5,900 per person (£10,500 for eligible minors) tariff payment to support guests to rebuild their lives and fully integrate into communities. This funding can continue to be used flexibly to meet local and individual needs. Future Tariff payments will be subject to the outcome of the Spring Spending Review.

Eligible minors

Eligible minors on the UPE scheme who remain in sponsorship will continue to require oversight by local authorities for the 18-month period. We can confirm that we will continue to support local authorities with their ongoing care of eligible minors, paying £6,100 per minor per year for the duration of the 18-month UPE visa period. Where an eligible minor enters the care of the local authority due to a sponsorship breakdown and no other arrangements can be made, local authorities will continue to receive £64,150 per year (pro-rated) and £16,850 for care leavers.  Eligibility criteria will be set out in guidance in due course.

We shall be engaging with Strategic Migration Partnerships, the local authority network, as well as Voluntary and Civil Sector partners on the detailed changes to the Homes for Ukraine guidance during December and will share a near final draft to allow time to review and prepare for any necessary operational changes. Our aim is for Homes for Ukraine guidance on GOV.UK to be updated by January 2025. 

If you have any questions about these policy changes, please do not hesitate to get in contact with us through existing channels.

Yours ever,

Lord Khan of Burnley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Faith, Communities and Resettlement