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SESSION 2022-23
17 OCTOBER 2023
HC 1863
Investigation into the
Homesfor Ukraine scheme
Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities
and the Home Office
REPORT
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Gareth Davies
Comptroller and Auditor General
National Audit Office
10 October 2023
HC 1863 | £10.00
Investigation into the
Homesfor Ukraine scheme
Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities
and the Home Office
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013945 10/23 NAO
Investigations
We conduct investigations to establish the underlying
facts in circumstances whereconcerns have been
raised with us, or in response to intelligence that
wehave gathered through our wider work.
© National Audit Office 2023
This report covers the Homes for Ukraine scheme. The scheme
was established in March 2022 and enables people in the UK to act
as sponsors and host Ukrainian nationals and their families seeking
refuge from the war in Ukraine. People on the scheme are granted
three-year visas, and the first to arrive under the scheme will now
be halfway through their permitted stay. The report aims to increase
transparency by taking stock of what has been achieved to date,
forwhat cost, and what can be learned.
Contents
Key facts 4
What this investigation is about 5
Summary 7
Part One
Initial set-up of the scheme 16
Part Two
Arrivals under the scheme 25
Part Three
Scheme funding 37
Part Four
Future of the scheme 44
Appendix One
Our investigative approach 54
If you are reading this document with a screen reader you may wish to use the bookmarks option to navigate through the parts. If
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The National Audit Office study
teamconsisted of:
Rachel Burden, Matthew Conroy,
Andrew Ellis, Catherine Hayes,
Rosemary Hill, Kate Milne,
TomTyson and StephWoodrow,
under the direction of
LeeSummerfield.
This report can be found on the
National Audit Office website at
www.nao.org.uk
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report in an alternative format
for accessibility reasons, or
any of the figures in a different
format, contact the NAO at
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4 Key facts Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme
Key facts
131,000
the number of people who
have arrived in the UK under
the Homes for Ukraine
scheme(the scheme)
asof28August 2023
77%
the percentage of scheme
visas processed by the Home
Offi ce within 15 working days
up to endof July 2023
£2.1bn
total funding that government
had provided under the
scheme by September 2023
£1.1 billion
tariff funding provided by the Department for Levelling Up,
Housing & Communities to local authorities by the end
of2022-23 to help support and integrate Ukrainian arrivals
(£10,500 per person, reduced to £5,900 per person after
31December 2022)
4,890
the number of households under the scheme, in England, that
have been homeless or at risk of homelessness at some point
betweenMarch 2022 and August 2023
£650 million
scheme funding announced in December 2022, through
the Local Authority Housing Fund (£500 million) and
for homelessness prevention (£150 million), though not
allofthiswill be spent on Ukrainians
248,000
number of people who registered an “expression of interest”
inacting as a sponsor under the scheme
73,759
number of people who applied to sponsor a Ukrainian guest
under the scheme
March 2025
month in which the fi rst Ukrainians who arrived under the
scheme will see their three-year visas expire
Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme What this investigation is about 5
What this investigation is about
The Homes for Ukraine scheme
1 The UK government launched the Homes for Ukraine scheme (the scheme)
on 14 March 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The scheme enables people in the UK to act as sponsors for Ukrainian nationals
and their families seeking refuge from the war, with individuals being granted
three-year visas to stay in the UK, with full access to public services, benefits, and
other support.
1
Any adult is able to act as a sponsor providing they pass eligibility
checks conducted by the Home Office and local authorities. Sponsorsmust
commit to hosting for a minimum of six months and can claim thank you
payments from government for providing suitable accommodation for Ukrainians
to live in of £350per month for the first 12 months, and then £500 for the next
12months. Inaddition, the local authority where the sponsor is based receives
a one-off payment of £10,500 per arrival (reduced to £5,900 for all arrivals after
31December2022) to help with support and integration needs.
2 The scheme is jointly run by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing &
Communities (DLUHC) and the Home Office, who established a joint taskforce in
March 2022.
2
The Home Office primarily leads on operational matters relating to the
processing of visas and checks on the suitability of the sponsor. DLUHC leads on all
aspects of the scheme from the point of arrival of Ukrainians into the UK, working
closely with local authorities and devolved governments.
Our scope
3 The first people to arrive in the UK under the scheme are now halfway through
their permitted stay, and the emergency phase of the UK government’s response
to the Ukraine refugee crisis has come to a close. This report aims to increase
transparency by taking stock of what has been achieved to date, for what cost,
andwhat can be learned. We set out:
•
how the scheme was set up at speed and the scheme objectives (Part One);
•
arrival numbers and the checks conducted on applicants and sponsors
(Part Two);
1 In this report, we often refer to people applying for or arriving on the scheme as ‘Ukrainians’ for ease. However, the
scheme is also open to people of other nationalities if they are the immediate family member of a Ukrainian national
who has been granted permission under, or is applying to and qualifies for, the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
2 In this report we refer to a joint taskforce between DLUHC and the Home Office. Initially the scheme was managed
by a joint Home Office and DLUHC team in March 2022. This was formalised in May 2022 and the Homes for
Ukraine scheme moved to a joint Ukraine Humanitarian Taskforce (the taskforce).
6 What this investigation is about Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme
•
the funding provided (Part Three); and
•
challenges and future risks with the scheme (Part Four).
4 This investigation does not seek to examine and report on the value for money
of the scheme.
5 The scheme was developed in collaboration with the devolved governments and
operates across the UK. The Welsh and Scottish governments both chose, withthe
agreement of the UK government, to act as super sponsors under the scheme.
3,4
This enabled Ukrainians to name the Welsh or Scottish devolved government as
their sponsor if they did not have an individual sponsor. The Welsh and Scottish
Governments then provided interim accommodation until the Ukrainian was able to
move into accommodation in the community or the Welsh or Scottish Government,
working with local authorities, had matched them into longer-term accommodation.
As decisions taken by the devolved governments, these super sponsor schemes fall
outside of the scope of this audit.
5
However, we do consider central UK government
funding provided to local authorities in Scotland and Wales for Ukrainians with an
individual sponsor under the UK-wide scheme.
6 The scheme is not the only route into the UK for Ukrainians seeking to escape
the war. A Ukraine Family Visa Scheme was launched on 4 March 2022 to enable
Ukrainians to join family members in the UK. Additionally, the Ukraine Extension
Scheme was created to enable Ukrainians who held temporary permission to be
in the UK to extend their stay. There had been 111,800 visa applications under
the Family scheme and 24,800 applications under the Extension scheme as at
29August 2023, meaning both have been much smaller in scale than the Homes
for Ukraine scheme, which had 207,200 applications. Neither scheme has received
any significant direct public funding, with no tariff funding or thank you payments
applicable under them. As such, neither of these two routes are within the scope
ofthis audit.
3 The scheme operates across the four nations of the UK. Only Scotland and Wales chose to act as super sponsors;
there is no equivalent super sponsor arrangement in place in England or Northern Ireland.
4 The Welsh Government paused their role as a super sponsor in June 2022, and the Scottish Government
paused their role as a super sponsor in July 2022. The super sponsor route was not open to new applicants
afterthesedates.
5 Audit Wales is currently conducting an audit looking at how the Welsh Government is supporting Ukrainian refugees,
with a particular focus on the Welsh Government’s Super Sponsor scheme. It is expected that it will report in
Winter2023-24.
Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme Summary 7
Summary
Key findings
Homes for Ukraine scheme set up and arrivals
7 Since March 2022, 131,000 Ukrainians have arrived in the UK through the
Homes for Ukraine scheme (the scheme). The scheme is uncapped in terms of
arrivals. Neither the Home Office nor the Department for Levelling Up, Housing
& Communities (DLUHC) formally forecast the number of arrivals the UK could
expect under the scheme before launching it. Arrivals per week peaked at 8,200
in the week ending 9 May 2022, and have slowly fallen since then, with weekly
arrivals now consistently under 1,000 per week, with a total of 131,000 arrivals up to
28August2023. The largest concentration of sponsors under the scheme is in the
South-East of England and London (paragraphs 2.2 to 2.5, Figure 7 and Figure 8).
8 DLUHC and the Home Office developed and implemented the scheme quickly
in response to a crisis, with a clear objective of bringing Ukrainians to safety.
Ajointtaskforce was established that was able to build on the significant public will
to help bring Ukrainians to safety. It established a system to channel the UKpublic’s
generosity into sponsorship arrangements: more than 180,000 expressions of
interest were received in the first week the government asked people to record their
interest in being a sponsor. In total, 73,759 individuals had applied to sponsor a
Ukrainian guest under the scheme by 12 September 2023. DLUHC acknowledges
that the initial guidance for the expressions of interest was not clear and may have
contributed to a drop-out and disengagement of potential sponsors. The first people
arrived in the UK on 28 March 2022, just under four weeks after the scheme was
announced and five weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine. The programme has since
set out a more complete set of objectives, including to help individuals thrive and
transition out of sponsorship (paragraphs 1.4, 1.7, 1.10, 1.13, and Figure 3).
8 Summary Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme
9 DLUHC has changed its internal performance metrics for the scheme over
time, and aims to meet these by March 2025, but has not set out what level
of performance it expects to achieve before then for five out of six of these.
DLUHCdoes not report externally on its performance but in April 2023, DLUHC
updated the internal performance metrics it had set in March 2022, setting itself
eight key performance indicators, three of which did not have set targets. In
September 2023, DLUHC updated its KPIs again, removing five of the existing
KPIs, and creating three new ones, to leave itself with six, as set out in Figure 1. It is
currently meeting two of the targets, on the completion of safeguarding checks by
local authorities and maintaining the prevention of homelessness in line with wider
levels of homelessness. DLUHC also has three targets for successfully rematching
Ukrainians with new sponsors, supporting Ukrainians into the private rented sector
and helping Ukrainians claiming Universal Credit find employment. DLUHC believes
it is on track to meet these three targets by March 2025, despite not setting any
interim performance targets. Additionally, it has a target to sign up 10,000people
for an English language and wrap-around employment support scheme by
August 2024 and as at September 2023 it had signed up 5,400 to that scheme
(paragraphs1.14and 1.15).
Figure 1
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities’ (DLUHC’s) key performance indicators
forthe Homes for Ukraine scheme (the scheme), September 2023
DLUHC has six key metrics to monitor the success of the scheme
Metric Measurement Target Current performance
Safe sponsorship accommodation Percentage of local authority (LA) checks
completed compared with arrivaldata
95%–100% by
31 March 2025
99% as of
12September 2023
Supporting existing guests to find new
accommodation through rematching
Percentage of people who applied for a
rematch who were successfully rematched
80% by
31March2025
72% as of
12September 2023
Prevention of homelessness Maintain the level of successful prevention
at or above 46% forUkrainians in line with
wider homelessness statistics for2023-24
46% by
31March2025
63% as of
31August2023
Supporting people into work–
STEPUkraine
‘STEP Ukraine’ English language and
wrap-around employment scheme delivering
support for up to10,000Ukrainians
Up to 10,000
between
August2023 and
August 2024
5,400 sign-ups as of
11September 2023
Supporting people to transition into
independent accommodation
Groups leaving sponsorship into the private
rented sector
60% by
31March2025
44% as of
12September 2023
Supporting people into work– earnings Percentage of Ukrainians claiming Universal
Credit whodeclare earnings
60% by
31 March 2025
49% as of
12August 2023
Source: National Audit Offi ce analysis of Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities documentation
Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme Summary 9
Visa processing and safeguarding
10 By end of July 2023, the Home Office had received more than
182,000applications, of which 77% were processed within 15 working days,
although rates have slowed for more recent applicants.
6
The Home Office did not
set out target turnaround times for processing scheme visas until April 2023, stating
that the focus was simply to process them as quickly as possible. It acknowledges
that it wasunable to process visas as quickly as it wanted to at the start of the
scheme when the need for Ukrainians to escape was most urgent. For applications
submitted in March 2022, for example, 18% of applications were processed within
five working days. By May 2022 this had increased to 71% within five working days,
largely because the Home Office reprioritised many of its visa caseworkers to work
on processing Ukrainian visas and brought in 554 staff from other departments.
However, since June 2022, the turnaround times have largely taken longer and
the number of applications which took, or will take, more than 15 working days to
process increased from 19% of applications submitted in June 2022 to 63% in
July2023 (paragraphs 2.7 to 2.10 and Figure 9).
11 DLUHC and the Home Office recognise safeguarding as one of the biggest
potential risks in the scheme and put in place checks on potential sponsors
as well as Ukrainians. Sixty-six per cent of all arrivals under the scheme have
been female, and 30% of all arrivals are aged under 18 as of 30 June 2023.
Alongside Home Office checks on the potential sponsor and other adults in
the sponsor household, local authorities are expected to conduct additional
checks. However,thelocal authority checks do not have to be completed before
Ukrainians arrive in the UK. DLUHC felt this risk was tolerable given the desire to
help Ukrainians to leave Ukraine as quickly as possible. Some local authorities
found guidance they received at the beginning of the scheme, when the number
of Ukrainians arriving was highest, was insufficient. This was particularly the case
for guidance around expectations for safeguarding and accommodation checks.
These local authorities generally consider that the guidance has improved since
the beginning of the scheme. DLUHC does not hold comprehensive data on how
often guests arrived before all checks were completed. Data recorded by local
authorities on DLUHC’s main data system shows that out of around 66,000 checks
completed by September 2023, 2,516 safeguarding checks were marked as failed.
DLUHC told us not all of these will be due to a safeguarding issue as, for example,
somelocal authorities record failures if a sponsor withdrew from the application.
It does not know the true number of safeguarding checks that were failed
(paragraphs2.12and2.15to2.18,andFigure 10).
6 The 182,000 applications figure does not include withdrawn applications, such as where an applicant has applied
more than once and only one of their applications is considered. When we refer to processed applications, we mean
applications where the Home Office has concluded an outcome, such as ‘issued’ or ‘refused’.
10 Summary Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme
12 There have not been many safeguarding issues identified but data on some
issues are incomplete. According to DLUHC’s data, fewer than 1% of Ukrainian
households participating in the scheme have been rematched due to safeguarding
concerns, although DLUHC does not mandate that all rematches are reported to it
from local authorities. The taskforce established expert panels to look at individual
safeguarding risks, such as modern slavery. The panels concluded that the risks
are either moderate or low as far as they can determine from the data available.
Thepanels on adult harm and child harm remarked that the data and evidence on
these risks are limited and recommended that DLUHC work to improve the data
picture it has on safeguarding issues where possible (paragraphs 2.14 and 2.17).
Scheme funding
13 As at the end of September 2023, the government had provided £2.1 billion
of funding for the scheme and DLUHC continues to fund new arrivals and sponsors.
DLUHC has provided £1.9 billion of this funding, of which:
•
£1.14 billion has gone directly to local authorities in the form of tariff funding;
•
£100 million has gone to sponsors as thank you payments for providing
accommodation. Funding through both the thank you payments and tariff
payments is ongoing as new people enter the UK; and
•
£650 million was announced by DLUHC in December 2022 for local authorities
through a Local Authority Housing Fund (LAHF) (£500 million) to acquire
housing stock, and £150 million for homelessness prevention more widely.
This funding aims to assist reducing homelessness for people within the local
authority, including those on the Homes for Ukraine scheme. Local authorities
must spend any money allocated under these before the end of March 2024.
In addition, the Department for Education has provided £171 million to local
authorities to help with education and childcare services for Ukrainian children
inEngland (paragraphs 3.2, 3.6 and 4.16, and Figure 11).
14 Government decided to fund the scheme differently from how it has funded
recent schemes for permanent resettlement in the UK. Unlike recent resettlement
schemes such as the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), Homes for
Ukraine offers temporary rather than permanent resettlement. Government does
not incur regular accommodation costs under this scheme because sponsors
provide the accommodation. In recognition of this, government decided to offer
sponsors thank you payments, initially set at £350 per month, rising to £500 per
month once guests have been in the country for 12 months. DLUHC estimates this
means that it is paying £6 per person per night (£8 once increased to £500) under
the scheme. By comparison, in the Homes for Ukraine scheme business case,
theaccommodation costs under the ACRS in ‘bridging accommodation’ such as
hotels was estimated at £98 per person per night (paragraphs 3.3, 3.6 and 3.7).
Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme Summary 11
15 The scheme tariff funding DLUHC provides to local authorities is a one-off
payment whereas under permanent resettlement schemes local authorities get
multi-year funding. Each local authority is given £10,500 per Ukrainian arrival with
the expectation that that money is used to support the arrival in their first year in
the UK. This was reduced to £5,900 for arrivals after 31 December 2022. Underthe
ACRS, local authorities get £10,500 per arrival in the year Afghan citizens arrive,
then a further £6,000 is available in the second year and £4,020 in the third
year. The Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme, another permanent
resettlement scheme which ran until 2021, also saw multi-year funding, with central
government funding to local authorities for five years (paragraphs 3.2, 3.3 and 4.2).
16 DLUHC did not have sufficient spend data from local authorities in 2022-23
to fully understand how local authorities were using tariff funding. It has asked for
these data for 2023-24. Tariff funding provided to local authorities is not ringfenced,
meaning local authorities are largely free to use it in the manner they think will best
meet local needs. In determining the amount of the tariff payment, DLUHC produced
an indicative assessment of how the £10,500 tariff funding might be used by local
authorities but did not share this with them, as it wanted to give them flexibility over
spending. Instead, it set out high-level expectations on how to spend the money
such as undertaking safeguarding checks, homelessness assistance and community
integration. DLUHC did not mandate that local authorities report back on what they
used this funding for, and few chose to do so voluntarily. It has since mandated
such reporting for 2023-24 to better understand how the funding is being used.
Localauthorities we spoke to appreciated having the flexibility with the funding.
Asthere is no further funding beyond the initial tariff payment, some local authorities
told us they have kept some money in reserve due to concerns about further financial
pressures that may arise with the scheme (paragraphs 3.4 and 3.5, and Figure 12).
12 Summary Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme
Risks and challenges with the scheme
Completeness and accuracy of data
17 DLUHC awarded a direct contract for the scheme’s main data system following
a free trial period, a type of arrangement the Government Chief Commercial Officer
subsequently warned against. In order to set the scheme up quickly, in March 2022,
DLUHC took up an offer from Palantir, a company on the public sector framework
agreement for digital services, to provide six months of free support to create its
main data system to manage and monitor scheme data. Following the free six-month
trial period, in September 2022, DLUHC signed a 12-month contract with Palantir
worth £4.5 million, excluding VAT, without any competitive process. DLUHC stated
that it had prioritised delivering the programme over replacing the software but
acknowledged that beyond the 12-month contract, it should plan to move away
from Palantir given DLUHC assessed at the time it may not be the optimal value
solution. In February 2023, the Government’s Chief Commercial Officer, wrote to
Palantir noting his concern about the practice of offering services to public sector
customers for a zero or nominal cost to gain a commercial foothold, contrary to the
principles of public procurement which usually require open competition. In early
2023, DLUHC investigated the feasibility of migrating from Palantir’s system to an
alternative platform prior to the end of the current contract. It found a number of
potential issues with migrating including that a new system may not be able to be
implemented in time, may have quality issues and may cost more due to the start-up
costs of a new supplier. DLUHC noted that if a new system was not implemented
in time, this may present a risk to the unaccompanied minors scheme and wider
safeguarding processes. Given these issues, in September 2023, DLUHCextended
the contract with Palantir for a further 12-months, valued at £5.5 million,
excludingVAT (paragraphs 3.10 to 3.13).
18 DLUHC elected to only make it mandatory for certain data to be reported
by local authorities, which has inhibited its understanding of how the scheme is
operating. The main data platform enables certain key scheme data to be shared
between DLUHC, the Home Office and local authorities, including data on the
subsequent movement of Ukrainians post-arrival. Due to the accelerated timetable
for creating the scheme, the platform did not undergo the usual research and testing
before it went live. Initial issues such as the way it presented duplicated application
data from Home Office systems, and a lack of user testing, led to confusion from
local authorities as to how to use the main data platform. DLUHC chose not to
mandate some of the data collections to reduce the administrative burden on
local authorities. Despite subsequent improvements to the platform following local
authority feedback, DLUHC’s decision not to mandate has meant that some local
authorities continue to report inconsistently. For example, DLUHC cannot accurately
report how many Ukrainians have been rematched under the scheme, or the
numbers who have permanently left the scheme (paragraphs 3.10 to 3.14).
Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme Summary 13
19 Local authority data returns on scheme homelessness are voluntary, meaning
DLUHC does not accurately know how many people on the scheme are currently
experiencing homelessness. Return rates vary, with around 30% of English
local authorities regularly not providing homelessness data on the scheme to
DLUHC. By the end of August 2023, local authorities had reported to DLUHC that
4,890households in England on Homes for Ukraine visas had been homeless or
come within 56 days of being homeless, 8% of the 65,117 households in England
using the visas. Since the start of 2023, at any one time, roughly 600 to 800
Ukrainian households have been living in temporary accommodation in England
but DLUHC does not know how many of these households are on the Homes for
Ukraine scheme. As more sponsorship arrangements come to an end the risk of
homelessness is likely to increase (paragraph 4.12 and Figure 14).
Providing suitable housing
20 Local authorities are employing a range of interventions to try to ensure that
Ukrainians have suitable accommodation to move into once initial sponsorships
end. DLUHC has committed to pay thank you payments for up to two years of the
three-year scheme visas, meaning unless sponsors are willing to host Ukrainians
without those payments, or DLUHC extends thank you payments into the third year,
other housing solutions will be needed. For the first arrivals under the scheme,
thank you payments are currently due to stop in March 2024. Of those Ukrainians
surveyed in spring 2023, who had been in the UK for between eight months and
just under 12 months, 45% were still in accommodation provided by their initial
host. Thirty-four per cent reported that they are now renting, although some local
authorities told us that the affluence of some areas with high numbers of sponsors
will make it harder for Ukrainians to move into the private rented sector nearby.
Thelocal authorities we spoke to described a range of actions they have taken to
protect people on the scheme in their area from homelessness using their tariff
funding, including rematching and support to rent private sector accommodation.
In addition, using the £500 million LAHF funding, 905 additional homes have been
acquired by local authorities, and DLUHC is currently forecasting a total of 3,365
being acquired by the end of 2023-24, with 2,880 expected to be used to house
Ukrainians (paragraphs 4.2, 4.9, 4.13, 4.16 and Figures 2, 13 and 15).
Future decisions on visas
21 The first people to arrive under the scheme will see their visas expire in spring
2025 and it is not yet clear whether government intends to extend visas. Funding
and targeted support will end before this point unless the government chooses to
extend it (see Figure 2 overleaf). The government told us it is keeping the scheme,
including any future need for extension, under review. Any decision on the future will
be made in good time to implement any new operational processes. Government is
conscious of the wishes of the Ukrainian Government to support Ukrainians to return
there when it is safe to do so to help rebuild the nation (paragraphs 4.2 and 4.3).
14 Summary Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme
Schemegovernance and resourcing
22 DLUHC and the Home Office have reduced the number of staff allocated to
support the scheme as it is now past the initial crisis phase. The main taskforce
running the scheme was moved into a new directorate within DLUHC in April 2023 to
incorporate management of the Hong Kong resettlement route and with the aim of
working closely with the Home Office on providing suitable accommodation for those
coming to the UK through the Afghan schemes. DLUHC aims to have 100 full-time
equivalent (FTE) staff working in that area by the end of March 2024 compared with
161 taskforce staff at the end of 2022. The Home Office has already significantly
reduced the number of staff working on visa processing, down from more than
1,000in June 2022 to 110 as of September 2023 (paragraphs 4.18 and 4.19).
The funding shown here covers funding that is either per Ukrainian (that is, the tariff funding) or per sponsor
(thethank you payments). Other non-specifi c funding has also been allocated to the scheme, such as the
£500million Local Authority Housing Fund and £150 million for homelessness prevention. This funding was to
assistwith preventing or reducing homelessness for people within the local authority, including those on the
Homesfor Ukraine scheme.
Ukrainian Homes for Ukraine visa – valid for three years
Thank you payments to sponsor – £350 per
month inyear one and £500 per month in
yeartwo
Tariff funding to local authority –
£10,500 per person on the scheme
March 2022
Year one
Current position
March 2023
Year two
March 2024
Year three
Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme Summary 15
Concluding remarks
23 Between 18 March 2022 and 28 August 2023, the government has
successfully supported 131,000 Ukrainians to come to the UK under the
scheme, meeting government’s overall objective of bringing Ukrainians to safety.
Thegenerosity of the British public in hosting people from Ukraine meant that the
government’s taskforce was able to establish the scheme quickly, and government
put in place arrangements to manage important risks at the start.
24 The future of the scheme is not yet clear. It is set to run for at least another
three years, with three-year visas continuing to be approved daily. Because of the
uncertainty for Ukrainians in the UK, government will soon need to make several
decisions, including whether to provide thank you payments for the third year of
visas, and what additional funding, if any, to provide to local authorities to continue
to support the scheme. In making its decision, government will need to also consider
the desire of the Ukrainian Government for people to return once it is safe for them
to do so. Some Ukrainians now have less than 18 months remaining on their visa,
introducing new challenges for individuals and local authorities. Government will
also need to carefully monitor the scheme’s key risks, such as safeguarding, and
particularly the threat of rising homelessness as more sponsorships end.
16 Part One Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme
Part One
Initial set-up of the scheme
1.1 This part of the report looks at the set-up of the Homes for Ukraine scheme
(the scheme), including the scheme background, how it works, and its governance
and objectives.
The humanitarian response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
1.2 Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 caused civilian casualties
and the destruction of vital infrastructure, forcing millions of people to flee
their homes seeking safety, protection and assistance. As of September 2023,
6.2milliondisplaced people from Ukraine were recorded globally.
1.3 Many countries have offered schemes to provide routes for Ukrainians
seeking sanctuary in their countries. Most notably, the EU activated the temporary
protection directive on 4 March 2022, which allows displaced persons a residence
permit, access to the labour market and housing, medical assistance, and access to
education for children. As of July 2023, more than four million people from Ukraine
have benefitted from the directive and are able to stay in the EU till 4 March 2024.
7
1.4 The UK government set up three schemes to support those who wish to either
come to or remain in the UK (see Figure 3 on page 18). All three schemes allow
eligible applicants to live, work and study in the UK and access public funds for
uptothree years.
•
Ukraine Family Scheme: Announced on 1 March 2022, the scheme is open
forimmediate and extended Ukrainian family members of British nationals
andpeople settled in the UK. The scheme was launched on 4 March 2022.
•
Homes for Ukraine: Also announced on 1 March 2022, the scheme is open
for Ukrainian nationals and their family members who do not necessarily have
family ties in the UK, if sponsored by someone in the UK. Ukrainians apply
for the scheme with a sponsor who can offer them a home such as a spare
room orunoccupied residential self-contained unit. The scheme opened for
applicants on 18 March 2022.
8
7 The European Commission has stated that if the reasons for temporary protection persist beyond 4 March 2024,
itmay propose to extend the temporary protection by up to another year until 4 March 2025.
8 The scheme operates across the UK with any adult able to act as a sponsor providing they pass suitability checks
aspart of the application process. The Welsh and Scottish governments both chose to act as super sponsors under
the scheme, enabling Ukrainians to name them as their sponsor if they did not have an individual sponsor.
Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme Part One 17
•
Ukraine Extension Scheme: Announced on 29 March 2022 and launched
on 3 May 2022, the scheme is accessible to Ukrainians or immediate
family members who were previously dependents of those Ukrainian
nationals, who had permission to be in the UK between 1 January 2022
and16November2023. This route does not require a UK based sponsor.
1.5 The Homes for Ukraine scheme (the scheme) is the largest of the three
schemes with 207,200 applications, as of 29 August 2023 (Figure 4 on page 19).
Thiscompares with 111,800 applications under the Ukraine Family Scheme, and
24,800 applications under the Ukraine Extension Scheme. Under the Homes
for Ukraine scheme, sponsors can claim thank you payments from government
for providing suitable accommodation for Ukrainians to live in, and the local
authority where the sponsor is based receives grant funding to help with support
and integration needs (see paragraphs 3.2 to 3.5). Neither the Ukraine Family
Scheme nor the Ukraine Extension Scheme have received any significant direct
public funding.
How the scheme works
1.6 A Ukrainian looking to apply for the scheme needs to find a potential sponsor
in the UK (Figure 5 on pages 20 and 21). This can be someone that they already
have a connection with, such as a friend or family member, or someone they have
not previously met. Many connections were made in the early stages of the scheme
through online social media channels. In addition, since May 2022 the Department
for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC) has hosted a webpage on gov.uk
of recognised providers. These are voluntary and community sector organisations
that look to facilitate matches between Ukrainians and willing sponsors in the UK.
Government has played no direct role in creating matches and does not know how
many people remain interested in becoming a sponsor.
1.7 To gauge the level of public engagement with the scheme, since 14March2022,
the UK government has hosted a ‘Ukraine Expression of Interest list’ on gov.uk,
where members of the public can record their interest in becoming a sponsor. Asof
28June2023, 248,388 people had expressed interest in becoming asponsor,
with most submissions (181,352) within the first week. DLUHC provided the list of
people who had expressed interest to the relevant local authorities on 22 April 2022.
However, DLUHC acknowledges that the initial guidance for the expressions of
interest was not clear and may have incorrectly raised an expectation that it would
proactively match individuals on the list to a guest. This confusion contributed to a
drop-out and disengagement of potential sponsors. DLUHC told us that many people
may also have chosen not to apply as a sponsor once more detailed guidance and
communication was shared and they fully understood what the sponsoring scheme
would entail. A total of 73,759 applied to sponsor a Ukrainian guest under the scheme,
by 12September 2023. Of these, only 19,754 (8%) were on the list of 248,388 people
who had submitted expressions of interest, as of 28 June 2023.
18 Part One Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme
24 Feb
Russia
invades
Ukraine
4 Mar
The Ukraine
Family Scheme
is launched
3 May
The Ukrainian Extension Scheme is launched
23 Mar
The UK government’s Spring
Statement includes Homes for
Ukraine funding commitments:
to provide local authorities
with £10,500 per person,
between £3,000 and £8,755
per pupil for education, and
£350 per month for sponsors
for up to 12 months
1 Jan
Under the Homes
for Ukraine scheme,
funding to local
authorities falls from
£10,500 to £5,900
per new arrival
15 Mar
A £11.5 million
English language
and employment
support programme
for Ukrainians
isannounced
14 Dec
Sponsors can now receive thank you payments for up to two years. The payment for sponsors
ofguests who have been in the UK for more than 12 months is increased to £500 per month
14 Dec
Additional funding for local authorities is announced, including: £150 million UK-wide top-up
funding for homelessness prevention; and £500 million England-only funding to acquire housing
stock for those fleeing conflict (including from Ukraine and Afghanistan)
14 Mar
The Homes for Ukraine scheme launches
and opens to sponsor expressions of
interest. Applications open on 18 March
22 Jun
It is announced that the Homes
for Ukraine scheme will be
expanded to unaccompanied
minors. The Home Office began
processing applications which
had already been received on
15 July. The scheme opened for
new applications on 28 July
18 Mar
The Scottish and Welsh Governments
announce they will act as ‘Super
Sponsors’ for refugees fleeing Ukraine
under the Homes for Ukraine scheme
28 Mar
The first people arrive in the UK via the
Homes for Ukraine scheme
Note
1
The reduction of scheme funding to local authorities on 1 January 2023 does not apply for eligible minors.
Source: National Audit Offi ce analysis of Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities published and unpublished data
Homes for Ukraine scheme events Financial events Other events
Figure 3
Timeline of events on the Homes for Ukraine scheme, February 2022 to March 2023
The UK government has put in place schemes and associated funding to help people fleeing Ukraine since Russia’s invasion
Feb 2022 Mar 2022 Apr 2022 May 2022 Jun 2022 Jul 2022 Aug 2022 Sep 2022 Oct 2022 Nov 2022 Dec 2022 Jan 2023 Feb 2023 Mar 2022
Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme Part One 19
1.8 Once a Ukrainian has found a potential sponsor, they apply online, with either
party able to complete the application form. The Home Office then commences visa
checks on the applicant and suitability checks on the sponsor. At the same time,
the sponsor’s local authority is notified of the application and is expected to begin
safeguarding checks on the sponsor and the suitability of the accommodation being
offered (see Part Two of this report for more details on both the Home Office and
local authority checks).
1.9 If the Home Office is satisfied with the result of its checks on the applicant
and sponsor, then it issues the applicant with appropriate documentation to enable
them to travel to the UK. While local authorities do not need to complete checks
prior to visas being issued, if they have completed checks and found issues, then
the Home Office will consider these prior to issuing the visa. Sponsors are expected
to offer accommodation for a minimum of six months, although in reality many
relationships have lasted much longer than that, and some have ended before then.
Local authorities and the voluntary and community sector can help Ukrainians find
alternative living arrangements if sponsorships end, with local authorities also having
their usual statutory duties to prevent homelessness (see Part Four for how local
authorities are dealing with this).
Scheme Applications received Visas issued
Homes for Ukraine 207,200 168,900
Ukraine Family Scheme 111,800 77,900
Ukraine Extension Scheme 24,800 20,100
Total 343,800 266,900
The fi gures for the Ukraine Family Scheme include 9,700 applications received and 7,900 visas issued from
applications to extend permission to stay in the UK.
Figures have been rounded.
The difference between applications received and visas issued is due to applications being withdrawn,
refusedorstillawaiting conclusion. For the Homes for Ukraine scheme, 24,600 applications had been
withdrawn,7,100 refused and 6,600 were awaiting conclusion.
20 Part One Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme Part One 21
DLUHC’s main data system for the scheme receives information
from Home Office, local authorities and Border Force to monitor
progress of checks on applications and arrivals and respond
toqueries
Notes
1
Once the Home Offi ce has approved a visa, the applicant is able to enter the country, regardless of whether the local authority has completed checks
on the sponsor or not. This may mean that an applicant starts living with a sponsor and then may have to leave and be rematched if the sponsor or their
accommodation is deemed unsuitable.
2
This fi gure shows the standard process for an adult who applies for the scheme and is successful. The route differs slightly for unaccompanied minors
applying for the scheme.
3 The Basic Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check will contain details of convictions and conditional cautions that are considered to be unspent
under the terms of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974.
An action by a specific actor
A conditional route based on whether an option happens or not
Figure 5
Overview of how the Homes for Ukraine scheme works
There are many actors involved in the process of applying for and approving applications, and then the next steps
for applicants once they leave their sponsor
Sponsor
Applicant
Home Office
Department for Levelling Up, Housing
& Communities (DLUHC)
Local authorities
Source: National Audit Offi ce analysis of Home Offi ce and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities published and
unpublished documentation
The applicant may be rematched
to another sponsor. Applicants
may find a new sponsor
themselves or the local authority
may help find a rematch
All necessary checks
are passed and
applicant is able to
remain withsponsor
The applicant may move out of
the scheme. For example if they
move back to Ukraine or move
into rentedaccommodation
The local authority may help find a sponsor rematch, place the applicant
into temporary housing or help them to find suitable further housing
with, for example, providing a deposit for rented accommodation
The main data system has a rematching tool which allows local
authorities to request a rematch in different local authorities
Applicant or
sponsor (on
applicant’s
behalf) submits
application form
Sponsor checks – these include suitability checks against
relevantdatabases
Applicant checks – these include eligibility criteria and
standard security checks undertaken prior to issuing a visa
The local authority may use tariff funding to provide ongoing community
integration support
Applicant matches with
sponsor in the UK. This
could be through an
existing relationship,
social media or
the voluntary and
community sector
Safeguarding checks on the sponsor, including DBS checks
Checks on the suitability of the sponsor’s accommodation
If local authority
checks are still being
carried out once
the applicant has
entered the UK
If the relationship with the
sponsor breaks down or the
applicant chooses to move
out of the accommodation
Applicant travels
to the UK and
their sponsor
accommodation
22 Part One Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme
Initial governance of the scheme
1.10 Central government responsibility for the scheme is split between DLUHC and
the Home Office (Figure 6). The Home Office is primarily responsible for elements
of the scheme up to people’s arrival in the UK, focusing on the processing of visas.
DLUHC is the overall lead for policy and scheme design from the point of people’s
arrival in the UK. Local authorities have primary responsibility for implementing the
scheme within their areas. In March 2022, DLUHC and the Home Office established
a joint ‘taskforce’ to run the scheme;
9
in 2023, the taskforce was re-structured and
became part of DLUHC, but the division of responsibility for the scheme between
DLUHC and the Home Office remains the same (see paragraph 4.19).
1.11 The scheme’s main decision-making body at official level is the programme
board. This board consists of DLUHC and Home Office officials and includes
representatives from the Department for Education (as required for input on child
safeguarding issues), and the Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA). To support
the programme board, officials set up groups including:
•
a cross-government steering group, including representatives from more than
10 government departments; and
•
advisory groups with representatives from outside of UK central government,
including local government, charities, and the devolved governments, in
recognition of the important roles they have in the scheme.
1.12 In a report issued in April 2023, the GIAA found the scheme overall had a clear
governance structure in place, with a clarity of focus and understanding of its role
across the programme.
9 In this report we refer to a joint taskforce between DLUHC and the Home Office. Initially the scheme was managed
by a joint Home Office and DLUHC team in March 2022. This was formalised in May 2022 and the Homes for
Ukraine scheme moved to a joint Ukraine Humanitarian Taskforce (the taskforce).
Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme Part One 23
Figure 6
Division of responsibility between the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC),
the Home Offi ce and local authorities for the Homes for Ukraine scheme (the scheme)
The Home Office is responsible for elements of the scheme up to people’s arrival in the UK, with DLUHC and local authorities
takingthelead after their arrival
Responsibility area DLUHC responsibilities Home Office responsibilities Local authority
responsibilities
Policy and process design Overall lead on policy and
scheme design
Policy and system design for
sponsor-guest matching
Delivery of data platform
Cross-government and devolved
authority engagement
Migration policy; immigration status,
and eligibility, of Ukrainian applicants
Design and delivery of registration
process forapplicants
Application support and
checks onapplicants
andsponsors
Oversight of checks/
safeguarding policies
Collection of information on
applicants and sponsors to facilitate
local authority preparation and
checks
Visa application process: policyand
delivery, including biometric checks
Support for applicants between
application and arrival in UK
Safeguarding and
accommodation checks
Welfare checks
Fraud checks
Delivery of in-UK elements
once people have arrived on
thescheme
Delivery of in-UK elements
of scheme including delivery
through local authorities and
access to public services
Local authority and
voluntaryand community
sectorengagement
Policy lead on Disclosure and
Barring Service (DBS) checks and
safeguarding functions, including
the police and modern slavery
operational teams
Arrival support and
community integration
Payments to sponsors
Rematching
Statutory
safeguardingduties
Longer-term support
andoutcomes
Longer-term accommodation
programme
Statutory
homelessnessduties
Notes
1
This table demonstrates the primary responsibilities for the Home Offi ce and DLUHC. In March 2022, DLUHC and the Home Offi ce established a
joint ‘taskforce’ to run the scheme. This meant that a lot of the tasks were carried out by offi cials from both departments. In 2023, the taskforce was
re-structured and became part of DLUHC, but the division of responsibility for the scheme between DLUHC and the Home Offi ce remains the same.
2
The Department for Education is jointly responsible with DLUHC for the safeguarding policy relating to unaccompanied minors.
Source: National Audit Offi ce analysis of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities documentation
24 Part One Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme
Scheme objectives
1.13 Given the pace required to establish the scheme, DLUHC and the Home Office
chose not to prioritise putting detailed objectives in place at the start of the scheme.
Instead, it was launched with the stated intention to “allow individuals, charities,
community groups and businesses in the UK to bring Ukrainians to safety”.
10
DLUHC
set out internal programme objectives in March 2022, with further refinement in
December 2022. These are to:
•
facilitate sponsorship of people arriving into the UK via the scheme;
•
ensure people sponsoring and being sponsored are safe and secure in their
sponsorship arrangements;
•
provide people arriving under the scheme with the support needed to thrive
inthe UK, enable them to live, learn, work and be healthy;
•
help individuals under the scheme to transition to independent living
post-sponsorship, including support to return home; and
•
support the taskforce’s current and future mission, including alignment with
other refugee cohorts.
11
1.14 DLUHC set out six internal performance metrics in March 2022 to monitor the
roll-out of the scheme. These covered areas such as numbers of visas granted and
arrivals under the scheme, number of checks completed by local authorities and
number of thank you payments made to sponsors. However, none of the metrics
had targets. In April 2023, DLUHC revised these to eight internal key performance
indicators (KPIs), but three of these did not have set targets.
1.15 In September 2023, DLUHC updated these KPIs, including removing five of
the existing metrics, and creating three new KPIs, leaving itself with six (seeFigure1
in the Summary). It is currently meeting two of the targets it set, on the completion
of safeguarding checks by local authorities and maintaining the prevention of
homelessness in line with wider levels of homelessness. DLUHC also has three
targets for successfully rematching Ukrainians with new sponsors, supporting
Ukrainians into the private rented sector and helping Ukrainians claiming Universal
Credit find employment. DLUHC believes it is on track to meet these three targets
by March 2025, despite not setting any interim performance targets. Additionally,
it has a target to sign up 10,000 people for an English language and wrap-around
employment support scheme by August 2024 and as at September 2023 it had
signed up 5,400 to that scheme.
10 Although charities, community groups and businesses have been involved in offering support in various ways under
the scheme, the taskforce has never allowed these organisations to take on formal sponsorship roles as it believes
that individual sponsorships lead to more sustainable relationships.
11 The taskforce’s mission had not yet been developed when the objectives were set out in December 2022.
Thisobjective was made redundant when the taskforce was moved into a new directorate in April 2023.
Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme Part Two 25
Part Two
Arrivals under the scheme
2.1 This part of the report looks at the number of people who have arrived under
the Homes for Ukraine scheme (the scheme) and the checks and processes that
theHome Office and local authorities undertake on applicants and sponsors.
Arrival numbers
2.2 By 28 August 2023, 131,000 Ukrainians had arrived in the UK under the
scheme. The government announced from the outset that the scheme would be
uncapped in terms of arrivals. Neither the Home Office nor the Department for
Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC) produced formal forecasts for
potential arrivals under the scheme prior to the scheme launching. They told us this
was due to limited evidence prior to launch. While the Home Office did some analysis
of potential arrivals after the scheme launched these were models for helping with
operational planning rather than a more definitive forecast.
2.3 The first people arrived on 28 March 2022, just under four weeks after the
scheme was announced. Arrivals per week peaked at 8,200 in the week ending
9May 2022, and have slowly fallen since then, with weekly arrivals now consistently
under 1,000 per week (Figure 7 overleaf). The pattern of arrivals will be dependent
on a number of factors, including how quickly the Home Office is able to issue visas.
2.4 England has seen the largest concentration of Ukrainian arrivals who are
sponsored by individuals, with 171 average arrivals per 100,000 of population as
of 8 August 2023. This compares with 121 in Wales, 93 in Scotland and 63 in
NorthernIreland. The Welsh and Scottish Governments have also sponsored a
further 23,398 arrivals under the super sponsor pathway as of 8 August 2023.
12
12 If arrivals under the super sponsor pathway are included, Scotland and Wales have the largest concentration
of Ukrainian arrivals per population across the UK with 462 and 224 per 100,000 population respectively.
Arrivalsunder the super sponsor pathway are not included in Figure 8.
26 Part Two Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme
0
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
8,000
9,000
Week ending
21 Mar
28 Mar
4 Apr
11 Apr
18 Apr
25 Apr
2 May
9 May
16 May
23 May
30 May
6 Jun
13 Jun
20 Jun
27 Jun
4 Jul
11 Jul
18 Jul
25 Jul
1 Aug
8 Aug
15 Aug
22 Aug
29 Aug
5 Sep
12 Sep
19 Sep
26 Sep
3 Oct
10 Oct
17 Oct
24 Oct
31 Oct
7 Nov
14 Nov
21 Nov
28 Nov
5 Dec
12 Dec
19 Dec
26 Dec
2 Jan
09 Jan
16 Jan
23 Jan
30 Jan
6 Feb
13 Feb
20 Feb
27 Feb
6 Mar
13 Mar
20 Mar
27 Mar
3 Apr
10 Apr
17 Apr
24 Apr
1 May
8 May
15 May
22 May
29 May
5 Jun
12 Jun
19 Jun
26 Jun
2022 2023
3 Jul
10 Jul
17 Jul
24 Jul
31 Jul
7 Aug
14 Aug
21 Aug
28 Aug
Figure
7
We
ekly arrivals of Ukrainians under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, March 2022 to August 2023
Number of arriv
als
W
eekly arrivals peaked in the week ending 9 May 2022 at 8,200 and have fallen since then
No
tes
1
Weekly totals are rounded to the nearest 100.
2
This figure includes individuals on the scheme who were sponsored by the Scottish and Welsh Governments under the super sponsor pathways.
3
The data show weekly arrivals. There will also be departures under the scheme as Ukrainians return to Ukraine, but reliable data on this are not available.
Source: National Audit Office analysis of published Home Office data
Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme Part Two 27
2.5 The largest concentration of Ukrainian arrivals who are sponsored by
individuals under the scheme has tended to be in the South-East of England
and London, although it is Derbyshire Dales in the East Midlands that is
the local authority with the highest proportion of arrivals per population
(Figure8onpages28and 29). Thelocalauthority with the largest number
ofarrivals is Buckinghamshire (1,689).
Visa processing
2.6 The Home Office is responsible for the processing of scheme visas to enable
Ukrainians to enter the UK. It is responsible for checking:
•
Ukrainian applicants – against standard visa eligibility criteria and security
checks; and
•
the potential sponsor and all adults in the sponsor household – making
suitability checks against relevant databases.
Visas are only issued if there are no adverse results to indicate that the UK-based
sponsor or applicant do not meet the eligibility or suitability criteria.
2.7 The Home Office did not originally set out target turnaround times for
processing scheme visas, stating that the focus was simply to process them as
quickly as possible.
13
It told us that not having a target meant that the data it
collected on its operational processing of these visas are not as good as it collects
for other visa processes. It was not until August 2022 that any robust analysis of
the data on turnaround times was conducted by the Home Office. In April 2023,
theHome Office set out a target internally to process all straightforward applications
within 15 working days, in line with other visa target times.
14
2.8 The Home Office acknowledges that it was unable to process visas as quickly
as it wanted to at the start of the scheme when the need for Ukrainians to escape
was most urgent. In March 2022, the first month that applications were open, of the
26,000 applications received, 18% were processed within five working days and
21% took, or will take, more than 15 working days (Figure 9 on pages 30 to 31).
15
13 When discussing the time taken to process a visa, this is referring to the time taken to make a decision on the
application, for example the decision to accept or reject a visa. This does not include applications which have
been withdrawn, including those where an applicant has applied more than once and only one of their applications
isconsidered.
14 The 15-day processing time target only applies to straightforward cases, as is standard practice for other visa
routes. Data used for the analysis in this section includes deferred cases which would not be subject to the target
(seeparagraph 2.11).
15 As of 11 September 2023, there are 14 applications that are still unresolved from March 2022. In our analysis
wehave categorised these as “more than 15 working days”.
28 Part Two Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme Part Two 29
Figure 8
Arrivals under the Homes for Ukraine scheme (the scheme) by local authority, 8 August 2023
Arrivals under the scheme have been widespread across the UK, with local authorities in London and the South-East often seeing
the highest number of arrivals compared with their population size
Notes
1 The maps show the number of arrivals by local authorities based on the postcode of the sponsor’s address, or of the accommodation address
iftheapplicant is not planning to stay at the sponsor’s address.
2 Data for the Isles of Scilly and the City of London are suppressed for data protection.
3 The maps show the location of arrivals, based on their sponsor locations, for 106,589 people who were sponsored by individuals as of 8 August 2023.
They do not include the 23,398 arrivals who have been sponsored by the Welsh and Scottish Governments under the super sponsor pathway.
4 The absolute number of arrivals in local authorities ranged from fi ve in the Shetland Islands to 1,689 in Buckinghamshire.
5 The number of arrivals per 100,000 people in the population of the local authority ranged from 16 (West Dunbartonshire) to 526 (Derbyshire Dales).
Onaverage, across the UK, there were 159 arrivals per 100,000 population. This increases to 194 when including those arrivals under the super
sponsor arrangements.
6 Population estimates are based on mid-2021 estimates produced by the Offi ce for National Statistics.
Number of people arriving
400 and over
300 – 399
200 – 299
100 – 199
Less than 100
No Data
Number of people arriving per 100,000 population
300 and over
225 – 299.99
150 – 224.99
75 – 149.99
Less than 75
No Data
Absolute numbers of people arriving on the scheme Number of people arriving on the scheme compared to the population
London London
Source: National Audit Offi ce analysis of Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities and Offi ce for National Statistics published data.
Boundaries data from Offi ce for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright
and database right 2023.
30 Part Two Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme
Figure
9
Vi
sa applications and processing times on the Homes for Ukraine scheme, March 2022 to July 2023
Visas processed (%)
The number of visas processed within 15 w
orking days increased from 79% in March 2022 to 95% in April 2022 but has since fallen back to 37% in July 2023
More than
5,412 1,970 3,308 4,226 5,015 1,970 1,857 1,887 1,648 1,526 1,667 1,823 2,159 1,716 2,050 2,083 2,096
15 working days
11–15 working days
7, 796 1,662 1,097 1,494 2,704 520 325 406 418 273 178 232 293 242 274 359 298
6–10 working days
8,289 9,942 2,982 4,125 3,342 1,188 760 678 1,150 873 438 690 525 379 557 523 506
Within 5 working days
4,792 23,012 18,137 12,278 11,194 3,237 2,293 1,619 1,160 665 1,362 902 1,046 1,012 1,029 540 411
To
tal
26,289 36,586 25,524 22,123 22,255 6,915 5,235 4,590 4,376 3,337 3,645 3,647 4,023 3,349 3,910 3,505 3,311
18
32
30
21
63
27
5
5
71
12
4
13
55
19
7
19
50
15
12
23
47
17
8
28
44
15
6
35
35
15
9
41
27
26
10
38
20
26
8
46
37
12
5
46
25
19
6
50
26
13
7
54
30
11
7
51
26
14
7
52
15
15
10
59
12
15
9
63
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
MarApr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
OctNov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
MayJun
Jul
2022
2023
Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme Part Two 31
2.9 The Home Office tried to improve the speed and ease in processing
applications and to improve the application processes for applicants over time.
Itdidthis in three main ways:
•
Deferring biometrics collection – Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,
thestandard process for applying for a visa to the UK required attendance
at a visa application centre (VAC) for the applicant to give their biometrics
before they came to the UK. These VACs, however, had a finite number of
time slots to enrol biometrics and limited the number of applications that
could be processed. On 10 March 2022, the Home Secretary announced that
attendance at a VAC would no longer be required for Ukrainians with valid
international passports. Instead, Ukrainians can apply online, uploading a scan
of their passport, and can give their biometrics after they arrive. Thismeant
that staff at VACs across Europe could focus their efforts on helping
Ukrainianswithout passports.
continued
possible to determine the true turnaround time on an application due to technical limitations with visa data systems.
The Home Offi ce exported these data on applications and processing times on 11 September 2023.
In the analysis, each application and its turnaround time has been assigned to the date on which it was
originallysubmitted.
The analysis includes data from two pathways under the scheme: Access UK 1 (AUK1) and Access UK 2 (AUK2).
AUK1 was the original pathway for applications to the scheme. It includes applications where biometrics were
submitted at a Visa Application Centre (VAC) overseas, along with applications for which in-person biometrics were
deferred. On 18 May, the Home Offi ce implemented a new application pathway (AUK2), which allowed for a more
digital journey for applicants as, for example, they were able to provide biometric information online rather than
having to provide it in person after they arrived in the UK. It also allowed Home Offi ce staff to process applications
remotely or in any other government offi ce.
This analysis is based on the number of working days to process the visas. This means the analysis under-represents
the full time applicants to the scheme would have waited for a decision. For example, if an application was started on
have been waiting four days. While some Home Offi ce staff worked over weekends to process visas during the early
stages of the scheme, these weekend work days are not accounted for in this analysis.
Withdrawn applications have been removed from this analysis. Withdrawn applications include those where an
from processing.
There are 3,866 applications which were being processed as of 11 September 2023. These have been counted in
the ‘more than 15 working days’ category for whichever month the application began in.
Figures may not sum due to rounding.
32 Part Two Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme
•
Increasing resourcing levels – at one point the Home Office had moved just
over 400 of its staff processing other visa types onto Ukraine schemes as
well as bringing in staff from other government departments. It grew from a
minimum of 165 staff working on the scheme in March 2022, to over 1,000by
June 2022 working across all the Ukraine schemes. This included 554officials
from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and the Department for Work
&Pensions (DWP).
•
Rolling out new digital systems – the Home Office’s existing digital system
for visa processing required several time-consuming workarounds and as a
legacy system it could only be used at three Home Office locations, limiting
the number of staff who could work cases. On 18 May 2022, the Home Office
implemented a new application pathway which allowed for a more digital
journey for applicants as, for example, they were able to provide biometric
information online rather than having to provide it after they arrived in the
UK. Italso allowed caseworkers to process cases on laptops, rather than
being limited to office space at the three Home Office sites, expanding the
numbersthat could work on cases.
2.10 These measures did contribute to improved turnaround times initially, with
Apriland May 2022 seeing 95% and 87% of cases processed within 15 working
days respectively. Overall, of 182,620 applications received by July 2023, the
majority (77%) were processed within 15 working days. However, the turnaround
times have largely taken longer since June 2022, and the number of applications
which took, orwill take, more than 15 working days to process increased from
19%of applications submitted in June 2022 to 63% in July 2023.
2.11 The Home Office told us of several issues that it believes have contributed
to slower turnaround times. These include technical changes to the application
process, an influx of applications when the Scottish Government announced they
would be pausing the super sponsorship scheme and the impact of staff being
moved back to other roles. The Home Office also deferred some cases, which
caused delays. This was often as they were awaiting policy decisions on areas such
as whether to accept unaccompanied minors, what to do with an applicant if their
sponsor fails checks or how to manage applications from non-Ukrainians who were
living in Ukraine. If deferred cases are excluded, of 135,539 applications received
byJuly 2023, 90% were processed within 15 working days.
Approach to safeguarding
2.12 The profile of Ukrainian people arriving into the UK under the scheme is largely
women and children, with 66% of all arrivals female and 30% of all arrivals aged
under 18 as of 30 June 2023 (Figure 10).
Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme Part Two 33
Figure 10
The age and se
x of arrivals under the Homes for Ukraine scheme,
30 June
2023
Number of people arriving on the scheme
Sixty-six percent of all arriv
als have been female and 30% are aged under 18
Male
Female
No
tes
1
For arrivals data, age is reported as at the date of the individual’s first arrival to the UK. Sex is as recorded on
the individual’s travel documentation.
2
In total, 84,100 (66%) arrivals were female and 42,700 (34%) arrivals were male; 37,600 (30%) arrivals were
under 18; 85,700 (68%) were aged 18–64; and 3,500 (3%) were aged 60 and over. Numbers may not sum
due to rounding.
3
To tals include people on the Scottish and Welsh Governments’ super sponsor schemes.
4
Arrivals in this figure are based on data up to 30 June 2023. Elsewhere in this report, arrivals data goes up
to 28 August 2023.
Source: National Audit Office analysis of published Home Office data
Under 18 18–64 65 plus
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
90,000
70,000
80,000
18,900
(50%)
18,700
(50%)
1,000
(29%)
2,500
(71%)
22,800
(27%)
62,900
(73%)
Age
34 Part Two Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme
2.13 The profile of arrivals meant that those arriving on the scheme may be more
vulnerable to exploitation or abuse, and DLUHC and the Home Office recognise
safeguarding as one of the biggest potential risks in the scheme. The taskforce put
in place a Safeguarding Strategic Advisory Board (SSAB) from June 2022 to provide
assurance on the scheme’s approach to safeguarding. The SSAB membership
included taskforce members as well as individuals from other government
departments, arm’s-length bodies and voluntary organisations with an interest
in safeguarding issues. The SSAB found that the scheme’s overall approach to
mitigating safeguarding issues was well constructed and has strengthened over time.
It identified four key risk areas which the taskforce has subsequently focused its
attention on:
•
modern slavery (including labour exploitation);
•
violence against women and girls;
•
child abuse and neglect; and
•
adults at risk of abuse due to care and support needs.
2.14 The taskforce convened expert panels, made up of taskforce members
and individuals from other public bodies or charities with strong experience of
safeguarding issues, to investigate these four areas in more detail. These panels
concluded that the threat from modern slavery was low and moderate for the other
three areas. The panels sought out evidence of safeguarding harms, however, the
adult harm and child harm panels found that the data on the risks were limited.
In January 2023, the SSAB made 14 recommendations to try to strengthen
the controls around safeguarding, all of which were accepted by the taskforce.
Commonthemes in the recommendations were on improving the data available to
monitor safeguarding issues where possible and improving or clarifying guidance
and communications to those involved in the scheme. The taskforce assessed that
ithad implemented 10 of these recommendations by July 2023.
2.15 Following checks undertaken at the visa stage, primary responsibility for
ensuring the safeguarding of people on the scheme sits with the relevant local
authority. They must confirm to DLUHC on the scheme’s main data system that
theyhave conducted the following checks:
•
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check on the sponsor and other
residentsaged 18 or over in the household.
16
•
Accommodation checks – both the existence of the accommodation and
its suitability.
16 For sponsors for adult arrivals on the scheme, local authorities are expected to undertake Basic DBS checks.
Thesecontain details of convictions and conditional cautions that are considered to be unspent under the terms
of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974. Some local authorities also chose to undertake Enhanced DBS
checks for sponsors for adult arrivals. These contain details of spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands
and warnings that are held on the Police National Computer may also contain non-conviction information supplied by
relevant police forces. Enhanced DBS checks were required for sponsors for minors arriving on the scheme.
Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme Part Two 35
•
Welfare checks – in-person check once the guest has arrived.
•
Safeguarding – confirmation of the completion of the other checks above.
2.16 One of the key decisions taken early in the scheme was to allow the Home
Office to approve visas before local authorities might have completed all their
safeguarding and accommodation checks on the sponsor. This was acknowledged
as presenting a potential safeguarding risk but one that was seen as tolerable given
the desire to get Ukrainians out of Ukraine and away from dangerous situations
as quickly as possible. Local authority checks do need to be completed before
tariff payments are issued, and DLUHC expects them to be completed as soon as
possible. DLUHC does not hold accurate data on how often guests arrived before
all checks were completed or how long it took local authorities to complete their
checks. DLUHC told us that it did not seek to collect data on the number of checks
completed before guest arrivals as the policy allowed for visas to be issued before
checks were complete.
2.17 Some local authorities told us this ordering of checks presented problems
for them if the visa was issued only for them to conclude that the sponsor was
not suitable as a result of failing one of the checks listed above. Data recorded by
local authorities on DLUHC’s main data system show that out of around 66,000
checks completed by September 2023, 2,516 safeguarding checks have been
failed. DLUHC told us not all of these will be due to a safeguarding issue as, for
example, some local authorities record failures if a sponsor withdrew from the
application. It does not know the true number of safeguarding checks that were
failed. While the Home Office, working with Border Force, will seek to identify those
individuals arriving into the UK where a safeguarding check has been failed, there
have been a small number of instances where individuals have arrived and the local
authority has had to move them into temporary accommodation as a result. Local
authorities have recorded 282 households (less than 1% of total households), as
of 5 September2023, that have been successfully rematched due to safeguarding
concerns in their previous accommodation.
2.18 While local authorities were broadly supportive of the scheme’s aims from the
outset there was some concern about early communications and guidance provided
to them, particularly around these checks. Some local authorities told us that they
would have preferred much more prescriptive guidance from DLUHC about what
was expected through the accommodation checks and that the guidance has been
updated on several occasions to add clarity. DLUHC told us that there were some
statutory requirements on accommodation checks already in place and that it
wanted to give local authorities freedom to use their own expertise and experience
in inspecting properties. Local authorities also told us they were unclear how
HomeOffice checks, conducted as part of the visa process, interacted with the
checks they were conducting.
36 Part Two Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme
Unaccompanied minors
2.19 At the outset of the scheme, the rules forbade unaccompanied minors
matching with sponsors and travelling to the UK.
17,18
However, by May 2022,
theHome Office had received around 1,000 applications from unaccompanied
minors that it chose to defer making a decision on rather than rejecting. There were
also cases where Ukrainian parents were bringing their children to the UK having
found a sponsor, and then leaving their children with that sponsor in the UK to
allowthem to return to Ukraine.
2.20 In recognition of this demand for unaccompanied minors to be included in
the scheme, the government changed the scheme rules in June 2022 to create
a recognised pathway for unaccompanied minors to travel under the scheme.
Applications opened for the pathway in July 2022. Acknowledging that this created
additional safeguarding concerns, the taskforce mandated that all local authority
checks would have to be carried out before the visa application was approved and
recorded on the scheme’s main data system. Additionally, the sponsor and any
other household members aged 18 or over would have to undergo an enhanced
DBS check. As of 22 September 2023, 356 unaccompanied minors
19
were
currentlyonthe scheme, and 182 were on the scheme but have since turned 18.
17 An unaccompanied minor is defined as a child who is not travelling with or joining their parent or legal guardian.
18 DLUHC decided not to allow unaccompanied minors under the scheme with agreement from the
UkrainianGovernment.
19 The 356 unaccompanied minors currently on the scheme comprises 223 who applied via the Homes for Ukraine
eligible minors route and 133 who were re-classified after their arrival in the UK as, for example, they had been left
inthe UK with a sponsor because their parent had subsequently left the country.
Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme Part Three 37
Part Three
Scheme funding
3.1 This part of the report looks at the central government funding that has been
provided for the Homes for Ukraine scheme (the scheme).
Total scheme funding
3.2 Total central government funding for the scheme was £2.1 billion by the end of
September 2023 (Figure 11 overleaf). The Department for Levelling Up, Housing &
Communities (DLUHC) has provided £1.9 billion of funding for the scheme, of which
the majority (£1.1 billion) has gone to local authorities as tariff funding. Thisis the
funding that is provided to local authorities for each Ukrainian on the scheme with
the expectation that the money is used to support them in their first year in the UK.
Thiswas initially set at £10,500 per Ukrainian, although that was reduced to £5,900
forall arrivals after 31December 2022.
20
DLUHC estimates that with new arrivals in
2023-24 it willspend a further £140 million on tariff funding for local authorities.
3.3 DLUHC told us that the initial tariff funding of £10,500 was determined
following considerations of the costs involved for local authorities, and to provide
parity with what is given to local authorities hosting Afghans through the Afghan
Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS). However, tariff funding for Homes for
Ukraine, a temporary resettlement scheme, is a one-off payment whereas ACRS,
which is a permanent resettlement scheme, has funding attached to it in years two
and three (£6,000 and £4,020 respectively).
3.4 DLUHC produced an indicative assessment of how the £10,500 might beused by
local authorities but did not share this with them as it wanted to give local authorities
freedom to spend the money however they saw best (Figure 12 on page 39). Instead,
it published grant determination letters and guidance which set out categories that
it expected the funding to be used on, such as safeguarding checks, homelessness
assistance and community integration. Local authorities that we spoke to generally told
us that they appreciated this freedom and did not generally cite concerns over lack of
guidance as to what to spend the money on. Local authorities were more concerned
over the lack of clarity on whether further funding would be provided. Some local
authorities told us that as a result they have not spent all the tariff funding they were
given, choosing to hold amounts in reserve in case of further pressures arising.
20 The exception to this is for unaccompanied minors arriving under the scheme, where year-one tariff funding has
been kept at £10,500.
38 Part Three Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme
Figure 11
Central government funding for the Homes for Ukraine scheme, September 2023
Central government has provided funding of just over £2 billion on the scheme, of which just over £1 billion is estimated to count as
Official Development Assistance (ODA)
Funding element Funding providedby Value of funding Of which, counts
asODA
Recipient of funding
(£mn) (£mn)
Available only to Homes for Ukrainescheme
Local authority Tarifffunding Department for Levelling
Up, Housing & Communities
(DLUHC)
1,141 780 Local authorities
Thank you payments DLUHC 100 100 Sponsors
Education and childcare services Department for Education 171 171 Local authorities
inEngland
Other DLUHC 23.3 0 Various
Available to multiplecohorts
Local authority housing fund DLUHC 500 0 Local authorities
Homelessness prevention DLUHC 150 0 Local authorities
English language and
employment support – ‘STEP
Ukraine’programme
DLUHC 11.5 0 World Jewish Relief
Total 2,097 1,051
Notes
1
Funding includes spend by UK government including where this spending occurs in the devolved governments. It does not include any top-up
fundingprovided by devolved governments. The above fi gures represent a mixture of both spent and committed funding.
2
ODA calculations are based on fi nancial accounting principles in the above illustration. This may differ from other ODA spend reporting as
internationally it is recognised on a cash basis.
3 Local authority tariff funding and thank you payments are accurate as of end fi nancial year 2022-23. These fi gures do not include Q1 2023-24 spend.
The payment mechanisms for both the tariff funding and the thank you payments vary across the different nations.
4
DLUHC estimated that 69% of the original £10,500 tariff funding would qualify as ODA expenditure. Following data collection on actual local authority
spend and analysis of the likely usage of the reduced £5,900 tariff applicable from January 2023 the ODA eligibility estimate for the new tariff was
calculated to be 53%. Of the thank you payments for the fi rst 12 months from arrival, 100% are ODA-eligible.
5
‘Other’ consists of funding provided to Strategic Migration Partnerships (£1.7 million), Welcome Points (£3.3 million), Voluntary and Community
Sectororganisations (£1.7 million), and funding for digital services, VAT inclusive where payable (£16.6 million).
6
Round 1 of the Local Authority Housing Fund (LAHF) is primarily to be used to obtain housing stock for Ukrainians who arrived under the Homes
for Ukraine scheme (referred to as main element homes). These main element homes can also be used to house those on the Ukraine Family and
Ukraine Extension schemes, and those on eligible Afghan resettlement schemes. There is also an expectation that approximately £130 million
(subjecttochange) of the funding will go towards acquiring homes which will solely be used to accommodate eligible Afghan families. In the longer
term, properties acquired through LAHF will provide a new and permanent supply of accommodation for local communities, increasing the number
ofhomes in the wider social and affordable housing system.
7
The homelessness prevention funding was split UK-wide on the basis of Homes for Ukraine arrivals. In England £109 million was allocated through
the existing Homelessness Prevention Grant, which is an existing grant that local authorities in England receive annually. The funding in England
is ringfenced and must be used to prevent and address homelessness. However, it can used on any cohort, including domestic. It must be spent
within the 2023-24 fi nancial year. Funding has been allocated to all local authorities in England refl ecting both Homes for Ukraine arrival numbers
reported foreach local authority and wider homelessness pressures to ensure funding is focused on those areas that need it most. As homelessness
is devolved, the Scottish and Welsh Governments and the Northern Ireland Executive are responsible for deciding how to use the funding in their
respective administrations.
8
The English language and employment support fund ‘STEP Ukraine’ is for up to £11.5 million (including VAT) committed, but not yet spent. Funding
isavailable for up to 10,000 Ukrainians across all Ukraine temporary humanitarian visa schemes.
9
Separate funding was provided through Budget Cover Transfer to the devolved governments to cover education and childcare services, with
£23million to Scotland, £12 million to Wales and £4 million to Northern Ireland.
Source: National Audit Offi ce analysis of Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities and Department for Education fi nancial data
Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme Part Three 39
Figure 12
The Depa
rtment for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities’ (DLUHC’s)
indicativ
e assessments of how tariff funding might be spent by local authoritie
s
Indicative cost of interventions (£ per individual)
DL
UHC reduced the funding that local authorities receive per Ukrainian from £10,500 to £5,900 for all
arriv
als after 31 December 2022. Its indicative costings suggested that this would mainly affect local
authorities’ discre
tionary spend on the scheme
Discretionary expenditure
3,181 0
Local authority capacity and
administration
2,995 1,700
Children’s services and
adult social care
1,076 1,141
Homelessness/sponsor failures
1,004 1,182
Public services (excluding
children’s services
and adult social care) 926 787
V
oluntary and community
sector fundng 500 425
Support for arrival costs,
local welcome 468 398
Inspections and integration 196 0
Vetting, local role in matching,
fraud checks 154 298
To
tal 10,500 5,900
No
tes
1
These costings are indicative only, produced internally by DLUHC officials. The funding was not ring-fenced and
local authorities were able to spend the money as they felt was necessary.
2
To tals may not sum due to rounding.
Source: National Audit Office analysis of Depar
tment for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities documentation
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
Funding for arrivals
up to 31 December 2022
(£10,500 per individual)
Funding for arrivals since
1 January 2023
(£5,900 per individual)
40 Part Three Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme
3.5 DLUHC did not initially mandate that local authorities had to report back on
how they were spending the tariff funding. In 2022-23, local authorities were not
reporting back such information consistently to DLUHC, which meant it did not have
much visibility as to how the funding was being used. For 2023-24 DLUHC has
mandated local authorities provide information on how they have used tariff funds.
It took the decision to reduce the funding to £5,900 before it started mandating
this information from local authorities but said that the main reason for reducing the
funding was because it felt that many of the initial start-up and administrative costs
would no longer be incurred. It also told us that the reduction factored in its estimate
that around 15% of Ukrainians have left sponsorship and, for example, returned to
Ukraine or moved into the private rental sector. DLUHC’s indicative areas of spend of
the £10,500 tariff initially contained £3,181 labelled as discretionary spend and this
has been reduced to nil in the revised £5,900 tariff (see Figure 12).
Thank you payments
3.6 By end of March 2023, DLUHC spent £100 million on thank you payments, the
payments made to sponsors to recognise their role in providing accommodation to
Ukrainians. When the scheme was launched in March 2022, these payments were
set at £350 per month, with one payment per sponsor household, regardless of
how many Ukrainians were staying with them. In recognition of the cost-of-living
pressures and to incentivise sponsors to continue in their role, DLUHC announced in
December 2022 that this amount would increase to £500 per month once Ukrainian
guests have been in the country for 12 months or more. Based on current forecasts,
DLUHC estimates it will spend a further £177 million on thank you payments up to
the end of 2025-26.
21
3.7 Government does not incur regular accommodation costs under this
scheme because sponsors provide the accommodation. The thank you payments
acknowledge the generosity of sponsors who have provided accommodation and
support to guests. In the business case for the scheme, the taskforce assessed
that this made the accommodation costs of the scheme much better value for
money than those of recent resettlement schemes that have incurred significant
‘bridging accommodation’ costs where refugees are initially accommodated in
hotels and other forms of temporary accommodation ahead of finding permanent
accommodation with local authorities. Thank you payments equate to costs of
£6per person per night (£8 once increased to £500 after 12 months) compared
with £98 per person per night for Afghans being hosted in hotels.
22
This calculation,
however, does not factor in additional funding that is available under both
schemes, for example, funding that has been given to local authorities through
the LocalAuthority Housing Fund (LAHF) (£500 million) and for homelessness
prevention (£150 million) (see paragraph 4.16).
21 This forecast does not account for any new arrivals after March 2024.
22 The Homes for Ukraine scheme differs from resettlement schemes, such as the Afghan Citizens Resettlement
Scheme, as they are aimed at different cohorts with different demands. The Homes for Ukraine scheme is also
intended only for temporary sanctuary, rather than permanent resettlement.
Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme Part Three 41
3.8 The biggest fraud risk that officials identified with the scheme is that sponsors
claim thank you payments that they are no longer entitled to because the Ukrainian
guests are no longer living at their accommodation. Responsibility for detecting
fraud lies with the local authorities, with DLUHC guidance recommending at least
one in-person check at the six-month mark to check that the guests are still living
with the sponsor, although this is not mandatory and not all local authorities run
this check on every sponsorship arrangement. Based on the checks they have
conducted, local authorities report low levels of fraud and error, with data between
December 2022 and March 2023 suggesting that just 0.003% of thank you
payments were fraudulently claimed and a further 0.8% claimed in error. The Cross
Government Complex Grants Advice Panel recommended monthly declarations by
local authorities that Ukrainian guests are still living with the sponsor but DLUHC
elected not to proceed with this control so as not to overburden local authorities.
DLUHC told us that through engagement with local authorities, it found many have
robust counter-fraud practices in place which are tailored to the local area.
Official Development Assistance
3.9 £1.1 billion of scheme funding, up to the end of March 2023, is estimated
to count as Official Development Assistance (ODA) with DLUHC estimating that
£880million of its funding counts as ODA (see Figure 11).
23
This spend counts
towards the UK government target of ODA expenditure, which is currently set at
0.5% of gross national income.
24
DLUHC has had to assess what proportion of the
tariff spend by local authorities was ODA expenditure. For example, spend on fraud
checks would not count whereas spend on adult social care would count. It initially
assessed that 69% of all tariff spend would count as ODA expenditure. Following
advice from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and wider
guidance on ODA, DLUHC has reduced its estimate of the percentage of qualifying
ODA expenditure to 53%.
Digital funding
3.10 At the outset of the scheme, DLUHC identified a need to share data between
itself, the Home Office and local authorities, including data on the subsequent
movement of Ukrainian’s post-arrival. DLUHC chose to take up an offer from a
company called Palantir to use its data system on a pro-bono basis for the first
sixmonths, with Palantir waiving an estimated fee of £3.25 million. This agreement
did not contain any obligations that would have locked DLUHC into working with
Palantir beyond the first six months. DLUHC told us that this decision was because
of the pace at which it intended to launch the scheme, with Palantir able to help
establish the data system in nine days.
23 In line with government guidance, the Department for Education has estimated that all of its £171 million of grant
funding for education and childcare services in England counts as ODA, as shown in Figure 11.
24 ODA is measured on a calendar year basis, therefore the spend up to March 2023 is split across both 2022
and2023.
42 Part Three Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme
3.11 In September 2022, following the end of the six-month free trial period, DLUHC
directly awarded a 12-month contract to Palantir worth £4.5 million, excluding VAT.
DLUHC justified this as in the first six months of the scheme it did not have sufficient
time and resources to develop a new data system while implementing Palantir’s
system. It said it had invested time training local authorities in how to use it and in
meeting changing user requirements at local level. DLUHC stated that if it removed
Palantir’s system at that point, it would create safeguarding risks and significant
disruption for DLUHC and local authorities as they had no alternative, secure system
which could replace it.
3.12 DLUHC officials sought and received ministerial approval for this approach.
DLUHC officials acknowledged that the department should plan to move away from
Palantir given the cost of the contract, which was perceived to be higher than other
possible solutions. In February 2023, the Government’s Chief Commercial Officer
wrote to Palantir noting his concern about the practice of offering services to public
sector customers for a zero or nominal cost to gain a commercial foothold, contrary
to the principles of public procurement which usually require open competition.
This advice was copied to senior digital and procurement officials in government
alongside confirmation that free trial contracts should be avoided by government
customers and only used in exceptional circumstances. In May 2023, DLUHC
acknowledged that while it had not met its obligations under Public Contract
Regulations in directly awarding the contract in September 2022, this was justified
based on the continuing need to have a digital system to support the scheme.
3.13 In early 2023, DLUHC investigated the feasibility of migrating away from
Palantir’s system prior to the end of the 12-month contract, which expired in
September 2023. It found that migrating to a new system would be challenging as it
would either require a long-term commitment from DLUHC to create and maintain its
own system or it would have to incur new costs as a consequence of migrating data
to a new commercial off-the-shelf system, which may not be able to be implemented
in time and may have unknown quality issues. DLUHC noted that if a new system
was not implemented in time, this may present a risk to the unaccompanied
minors scheme and wider safeguarding processes. Given these challenges, in
September2023, DLUHC extended the contract with Palantir for a further 12 months,
valued at £5.5 million, excluding VAT. DLUHC will need to decide how it proceeds
after that point as the scheme will still be ongoing in September 2024.
Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme Part Three 43
3.14 The initial arrangement was put in place to help get the scheme up and running
quickly. Consequently, the system did not undergo the usual research and testing that
would be involved for the roll-out of a new digital system. There were initial issues
such as the way it presented duplicated application data received from Home Office
systems, and confusion from local authorities as to how to engage with the main
data system. DLUHC also only mandated that local authorities provide data on the
outcomes of safeguarding checks, with other data on scheme outcomes voluntary.
Many local authorities therefore chose to only report on what was mandatory and
developed their own processes for managing voluntary data rather than using
DLUHC’s system to provide the information DLUHC hoped to receive. Consequently,
DLUHC recognise that data on an issue like rematching, which is not mandatory
for local authorities to submit if the rematch occurs within the same local authority,
does not provide a complete and accurate picture of where Ukrainian people on the
scheme are now living. While DLUHC has improved the platform and resolved many
of its early issues following local authority feedback, it does not plan to mandate that
local authorities provide more data at this stage, as it considers that the administrative
burden this would impose on local authorities would be disproportionate.
44 Part Four Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme
Part Four
Future of the scheme
4.1 This part of the report looks at future risks and challenges in the Homes for
Ukraine scheme (the scheme) that will need to be managed and how government
is addressing them. These include: future decisions on permission to remain after
the initial three-year visa periods end; the future operation of the scheme for new
applications; providing suitable housing for people on the scheme and preventing
homelessness; scheme governance and resourcing going forward; and learning
gained from the scheme.
Future decisions on visas
4.2 Scheme visas are valid for up to three years, meaning that the first people
to arrive under the scheme will see their visas expire in March 2025. Funding and
targeted support for those earlier arrivals will end before this point unless the
government chooses to extend it: Local authorities receive tariff funding in the
first year after the guest’s arrival only, and hosts can receive thank you payments
for a maximum of two years. In comparison, under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons
Resettlement Scheme, which ran until 2021 and was designed for permanent
resettlement rather than temporary safety, central government provided funding to
local authorities for five years. Under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme and
Afghan relocation and assistance policy, it provides funding to local authorities for
three years. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities’ (DLUHC’s)
work to learn lessons from previous resettlement schemes indicated that cohorts of
resettled people are likely to have longer-term needs that extend beyond their first
year or two in their host country.
25
Some local authorities told us that consequently
they have chosen to hold some of their tariff funding in reserve to meet these
potential future needs (see paragraph 3.4).
4.3 The government told us it is considering any future need for an extension,
and any new operational processes it might need as a result. It is conscious of the
wishes of the Ukrainian Government to support Ukrainians to return there when
it is safe to do so to help rebuild the nation. To avoid unintended consequences,
suchas creating perverse incentives for people to migrate between host countries,
thedesign of the UK’s future policy in this area, and the timing of changes, will also
need to take into account the approaches taken by other host countries.
25 The Homes for Ukraine scheme is not a resettlement scheme, providing only temporary sanctuary, and therefore
isdifferent from other schemes such as the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme.
Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme Part Four 45
4.4 Many Ukrainians in the UK would find more certainty helpful as they try to map
out their future. Local authorities have reported to DLUHC some cases of individuals
being turned down by employers and educational establishments due to the length
of their visas. According to an Office for National Statistics (ONS) survey conducted
between April and May 2023, 52% of Ukrainians in the UK say that they would like
to continue to live in the UK, even when they feel it is safe to return to the Ukraine.
Of those who did not know where they intended to live (19%), the most common
reason, given by 60% of those who are unsure, is wanting greater clarity on visa
options for staying in the UK.
26
Future scale of the scheme
4.5 The scheme is uncapped, so the number of future arrivals will depend on
howmany potential hosts volunteer, how many Ukrainians wish to seek sanctuary
in the UK, and the effectiveness of the host-guest matching process. Demandfrom
Ukrainians for the scheme has been steadily declining but future demand may
rise or fall depending on the course of the war in Ukraine. The Home Office
estimates, forplanning purposes, that between 12 June 2023 and 31 March 2024,
around20,000 people may arrive in the UK under the scheme.
4.6 DLUHC accepts that the supply of potential sponsors has diminished since
the scheme first launched and that it has a role to play in trying to ensure there are
sufficient sponsors in the future. According to an ONS survey in November2022,
those who have acted as sponsors have generally had a positive view of how
the scheme has been managed. Just over half, 53%, said they were either fairly
satisfied or very satisfied with the scheme management compared with only
27%fairly dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.
27
4.7 In July 2022, DLUHC officials raised concerns with the Minister for Refugees
that the existing sponsor pool was insufficient to meet the demand required,
particularly as existing sponsorship arrangements come to an end and many guests
seek a rematch. DLUHC used a mix of communications activity to raise awareness
of the scheme and then to communicate the need to recruit additional hosts,
including two paid-for social media campaigns. Local authorities and voluntary
sector organisations also recruit their own potential sponsors. AsatJuly2023,
DLUHC assessed that there remained a medium risk that a shortage
ofsponsorswould occur.
26 Office for National Statistics, Visa holders entering the UK under the Ukraine Humanitarian Schemes: 27 April to
15 May 2023, 7 July 2023. Available at: www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/
internationalmigration/bulletins/visaholdersenteringtheukundertheukrainehumanitarianschemes/27aprilto15may2023
27 Office for National Statistics, Experiences of Homes for Ukraine scheme sponsors – follow-up, UK: 21 to 28 November
2022, 16 December 2022. Available at: www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/
internationalmigration/bulletins/experiencesofhomesforukraineschemesponsorsuk/21to28november2022
46 Part Four Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme
4.8 In addition to potential new applications, as of 28 August 2023, there were
around 38,000 Ukrainians who have been issued visas under the scheme but have
not yet travelled to the UK. A further 40,000 people who had previously arrived in
the UK under the scheme and the Ukraine Family Scheme were currently outside
the UK as of 12 June 2023. The government does not know how many of this group
have permanently left the UK. These Ukrainians therefore have the right to travel to
the UK immediately should they wish to.
Providing suitable housing
4.9 Due to the incomplete data that DLUHC receives from local authorities
(seeparagraph 3.14) it relies on other data sources to understand where
Ukrainianswho arrived under the scheme are now living. ONS survey data from
February–March 2023 suggests that around half of Ukrainians who arrived in the
UK under the scheme in its first three months of operation are still living with their
original host (Figure 13). Of those first arrivals, 34% reported that they were renting,
either through a private landlord (28%) or through some other provider such as a
housing association (6%). A further 11% have been re-matched and moved into
accommodation provided by their new host and 4% reported living in temporary
oremergency accommodation provided by the council.
4.10 UK sponsors were asked initially to provide accommodation for a minimum of
six months only. In November 2022, 63% of sponsors intended for their hosting
arrangement to end in one year or less. DLUHC acknowledges there will need to
be other housing solutions available. It has a target to support 60% of Ukrainians
leaving sponsorship into independent accommodation. As at 12 September 2023,
that figure was 44% (Figure 1). It has not clarified whether it expects people on the
scheme to have moved out of their accommodation with sponsors by the end of the
second year; it expects them to stay but does not intend to continue making thank
you payments; or whether it will extend thank you payments into the third year.
Localauthorities told us that when sponsorships end, many Ukrainians will struggle
to move on to other homes in their local authority due to high house and rental
prices in the areas where sponsors typically live.
Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme Part Four 47
Figure 13
Living ar
rangements of people on the Homes for Ukraine scheme, spring 2023
An Office for National Statistics (ONS) sur
vey in spring 2023 suggested that most people who arrived under the Homes for Ukraine scheme prior to 15 June 2022
w
ere still living with either their initial sponsor or a new sponsor
No
tes
1
These data show the living arrangements of people on the Homes for Ukraine scheme who had been in the UK for between eight months and just under 12 months at the time they
were surveyed. Survey participants were adults who had arrived in the UK prior to 15 June 2022. The survey was conducted online between 27 February and 13 March 2023.
2
The numbers in this figure may differ from the ONS published data as we have chosen to combine responses to two survey questions together. We have combined responses to a
question on whether people have moved out of the UK with responses to a question on the living arrangements of people on the scheme.
3
The sample size of respondents to the question on living arrangements was 2,750. The sample size of respondents to the question on whether they have moved out of the UK was 2,870.
The response rate for the survey, which covered Ukrainians on all three humanitarian visa schemes, was 33%. The response rate of only those respondents on the Homes for Ukraine
scheme is not known.
Source: National Audit Office analysis of Office f
or National Statistics data
Other
I do not have anywhere to live
0
Proportion of guests (%)
Living arrangement
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Living with the same sponsor
as when I arrived
Renting from a private landlord
Living with a different sponsor
to when I arrived
Renting, other, for example council
or housing association
Living in temporary or emergency
accommodation provided by the council
Moved out of the UK
Living with family or friends
45
28
11
6
4
4
2
<1
2
48 Part Four Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme
Homelessness
4.11 The taskforce acknowledged the risk of homelessness under the scheme
from its inception. As a sponsorship scheme like this had not happened before,
DLUHC did not know how many people might become homeless. DLUHC’s initial
planning assumption was that 50% of sponsorships could breakdown, leading to
homelessness. The indicative costings of the initial tariff funding to local authorities
assumed just over £1,000 per Ukrainian on the scheme could be used for dealing
with homelessness as a result, although this detail was not shared with local
authorities (see Figure 12 in Part Three).
4.12 DLUHC does not accurately know how many people on the scheme are likely
to become homeless soon or have already experienced homelessness. DLUHC
receives incomplete data returns from local authorities on homelessness but believes
it is sufficient to track trends and respond accordingly with policy interventions.
Around30% of English local authorities regularly fail to provide homelessness
dataon the scheme to DLUHC. The data that are available show that:
•
between 24 February 2022 and 31 August 2023, 4,890 households in
England on Homes for Ukraine visas have at some point been homeless or
came within 56 days of being homeless (Figure 14). This equates to 8% of
the 65,117groups in England to have arrived under the scheme. The data do
not show for how long people on the scheme were at risk of homelessness or
experienced homelessness, nor how many people on the scheme are currently
affected; and
•
since the start of 2023, at any one time, roughly 600 to 800 Ukrainian
households (whether on Homes for Ukraine visas or resident in the UK through
a different path) have been living in temporary accommodation in England.
An ONS survey in spring 2023, of people on the scheme who arrived before
15June2022, suggested that 4% of people in this group were living in temporary or
emergency accommodation provided by the council or did not have anywhere to live.
Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme Part Four 49
Total
145 310 680 955 1,170 1,720 1,595 2,595 2,910 3,130 3,475 3,800 3,880 4,440 4,890
Notes
1
Households are classed ‘at risk of homelessness’ when their local authority owes them a homelessness prevention duty, for example because
their accommodation arrangement has broken down, their accommodation was not available or suitable on arrival or when they have rejected
the sponsor’soffer. Local authorities may deliver their prevention duty through any activities aimed at preventing a household threatened with
homelessness within 56days from becoming homeless. This would involve activities to enable an applicant to remain in their current homeor fi nd
alternative accommodation in order to prevent them from becoming homeless. The duty lasts for up to56 days but may be extended if the local
authority is continuing with efforts to prevent homelessness.
2
Households are classed as ‘homeless’ when their local authority owes them a homelessness relief duty. The relief duty is owed to households that
are already homeless on approaching a local authority and require help to secure settled accommodation. The duty lasts 56 days and can only be
extended by a local authority if the household is notowed the main homelessness duty.
3
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) captures information from local authorities on Ukrainian-specifi c homelessness
pressures. Thisisa non-mandatory collection with a high rate of non-response. For example, the datapoint for August 2023 is based on returns from
74% of local authorities, with 78 local authorities not submitting data for this collection. The England totals presented here have been produced by
using the most recent data submitted by each local authority. The totals are therefore likely to under-estimate the number of households affected in
those localauthorities which have not recently submitted data.
4
Values prior to August 2023 are also under-counted due to a technical error in DLUHC’s imputation process.
5
The cumulative number of Ukrainian households who were homeless or been at risk of homelessness for December2022 was lower than the number
inNovember 2022 due to errors in the data collection process with, forexample, some local authorities not submitting cumulative totals.
6
Data are published at some point each month, so may not cover the entire month.
Source: National Audit Offi ce analysis of Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities published data
Figure 14
Cumulative number of Ukrainian households participating in the Homes for Ukraine scheme
(thescheme) in England who have at some point been at risk of homelessness or who have
presented as homeless, June 2022 to August 2023
Since the start of the scheme, at least 4,890 of the Ukrainian households it supported have at some point become homeless or
been at risk of homelessness
Number of households at risk of homelessness or presenting as homeless
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
4,000
4,500
5,000
2022
2023
0
Jun Jul Aug SepOct NovDec JanFeb MarApr MayJun JulAug
50 Part Four Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme
Local authority actions
4.13 Should their housing situation break down, people on the scheme will fall within
the statutory homelessness services run by local authorities. The local authorities
we spoke to described a range of actions they have taken to protect people on
the scheme in their area from homelessness using their tariff funding (Figure 15).
Thisincluded topping up thank you payments in 2022 to encourage hosts to
continue arrangements, before government took the decision to increase these
to£500 per month for Ukrainians in the country for more than 12 months.
Support hosting
arrangements
Arrange alternative
accommodation
Emergency
intervention
Monitoring
For example, periodic calls
to hosts to ask how long the
guests can continue to stay.
Rematching
Some local authorities are
finding and vetting new hosts
in advance.
Temporary/emergency
accommodation
Used as a last resort. Includes
hotels and B&Bs.
Mediation
Support from council team
to resolve host-guest
relationship issues.
Support to rent private
sectoraccommodation
For example, acting
as a guarantor or
providingfurniture.
Top-up payments
Some local authorities have
increased the thank you
payment to hosts in response
to the cost-of-living crisis.
Social and affordable housing
If available. Includes housing
paid for by the Local Authority
Housing Fund.
Note
1
The interventions noted here are based on interviews conducted with local authorities. It should not be viewed as an exhaustive list of all the
interventions that local authorities may have undertaken. Not all local authorities have taken all of these actions.
Source: National Audit Offi ce analysis of interviews with local authorities
Figure 15
Examples of actions taken by local authorities to avoid people on the Homes for Ukraine
schemebecoming homeless
Local authority actions have ranged from preventative measures to support hosting arrangements through to emergency
interventionsto provide temporary accommodation
Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme Part Four 51
4.14 In some cases, local authorities will seek to prevent homelessness by
rematching guests with new hosts. Central government allowed local authorities
to make re-matches from May 2022, and it has since become an increasingly
important part of the scheme. Local authorities often work with the support of the
voluntary and community sector to facilitate these rematches. One of the scheme’s
key performance indicators is that 80% of guests who ask for a rematch from their
local authority are successfully rematched. In September 2023, 72% of requests
forrematches up to that month had been successfully achieved.
Central government actions
4.15 In addition to encouraging rematching, from late summer 2022, as the
first sponsorship arrangements approached the six-month mark, the taskforce
started preparing interventions to mitigate the risk of high or overwhelming
demand for homelessness services. Analysis at that point suggested that unless
further interventions were put in place to support rehousing of Ukrainians once
their sponsorships end, up to 20,000 households (43,000 individuals) may need
temporary or emergency accommodation by 2027 at a total cost of £1 billion
(alsoby 2027).
4.16 In December 2022, DLUHC announced a total of £650 million of funding for
local authorities across two funds to assist with homelessness, including those
at risk in the Homes for Ukraine scheme, which they must spend by the end of
March 2024:
•
The ‘Local Authority Housing Fund’: £500 million of capital funding, allocated
based on the number of Ukrainian arrivals per local authority and wider
local housing pressures. Local authorities are expected to use it to obtain
and refurbish property, to provide sustainable housing for people who are
in England under the Afghan or Ukraine schemes and are unable to secure
their own accommodation.
28
DLUHC expects local authorities to obtain
3,365homes with the funding, with up to 2,880 of those being used to
house Ukrainians.
29
As of 8 August 2023, 905 homes have been acquired,
ofwhich93are occupied.
•
£150 million to help prevent homelessness, to be distributed to local authorities
across the UK.
30
Local authorities can use it for a wide range of actions to
support Ukrainians into sustainable accommodation, including to support
them to access the private rented sector, for employment support, to pay
fortemporary accommodation, and to encourage hosts to continue to house
theirguests.
28 Housing is a devolved matter, and the budget for the Local Authority Housing Fund comes from DLUHC underspends
on England-only activity, therefore the Local Authority Housing Fund is England-only.
29 DLUHC expects £131 million of the funding to be spent to obtain 485 larger properties, with at least four bedrooms,
to accommodate Afghan families currently living in ‘bridging accommodation’ such as hotel rooms.
30 The £150 million was distributed between all nations of the UK in proportion to their number of Homes for Ukraine
arrivals. The UK government allocated £109 million of the total to local authorities in England; this was delivered
via a top-up to the existing Homelessness Prevention Grant. In the devolved nations funding was transferred to the
Scottish and Welsh Governments and the Northern Ireland Executive to distribute.
52 Part Four Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme
4.17 The taskforce also developed contingency plans to help local authorities to
procure emergency accommodation, such as hotels, should standard homelessness
services be overwhelmed by the number of people on the scheme presenting as
homeless in winter 2022-23. It did not need to use this emergency measure.
Scheme governance and resourcing going forward
4.18 Both DLUHC and the Home Office are conscious of the need to stay flexible
enough to scale up the scheme again should the conflict in Ukraine escalate,
while using their resources efficiently given the number of people arriving is
currently low. Both departments have reduced the number of full-time-equivalent
(FTE) staff working on the scheme. At the end of 2022, DLUHC had 161 FTE
working on the scheme. By the end of March 2024, it is aiming to reduce the
number of staff working on the scheme and other resettlement routes to 100.
The HomeOffice reduced the number of people processing visas even more
significantly, down from more than 1,000 in June 2022 to 110 as of September 2023.
FromMay to July2023, visa processing times were often longer than the targets
the HomeOfficehad set, with 57% of applications submitted in those months
meetingthe target of15working days.
31
4.19 The scheme was originally run by a standalone taskforce team, made up of
Home Office and DLUHC officials, which worked only on this scheme and reported
directly into the DLUHC Executive Team (see paragraph 1.10). In April 2023, the
taskforce became part of DLUHC’s Social Housing and Resettlement Directorate,
within the ‘Regeneration portfolio’. The Home Office is still represented on the
scheme’s programme board, other governance groups and has its own Ukraine
Strategy and Escalation board. The Social Housing and Resettlement Directorate
has a broader role, including management of the Hong Kong British National
(Overseas) scheme and working with the Home Office on providing suitable
accommodation for those coming to the UK through the Afghan schemes.
32
31 This 57% figure is excluding applications which have been deferred as the Home Office target of 15 days to process
only applies to straightforward cases, as is standard practice for other visa routes. Between May to July 2023, 46%
of the 10,700 applications submitted were deferred, not including those withdrawn.
32 The Hong Kong British National (Overseas) scheme is a resettlement route available to people from Hong Kong who
have British National (Overseas) status and their close family members. The visas issued under the scheme permit
them to come to live in the UK for up to five years. They can then apply for permanent settlement.
Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme Part Four 53
Learning from the scheme
4.20 Stakeholders we have spoken to are generally positive about the scheme and
want lessons to be learnt for potential future refugee crises. Ministers confirmed
in July 2023 that government is considering whether it is possible to create a
comparable scheme for housing Afghan refugees.
4.21 In early 2023, DLUHC carried out an exercise to identify the lessons of
the scheme’s sponsorship model. It made recommendations to government on
the running of the current scheme, and on the design of any future emergency
sponsorship schemes. DLUHC is also developing a ‘playbook’, drawing primarily
onthe lessons from Homes for Ukraine, to aid officials in future to design any
futureemergency sponsorship schemes.
4.22 DLUHC has not yet decided whether to carry out an evaluation of the scheme.
It originally planned a process-focused evaluation, which it intended to complete by
autumn 2023, but it paused work on this in spring 2023. It now expects to decide
onwhether to commission an evaluation, and what its focus would be, in late 2023.
54 Appendix One Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme
Appendix One
Our investigative approach
Scope
1 By 28 August 2023, 131,000 Ukrainians had arrived in the UK under the
scheme. The scheme has been jointly run by the Department for Levelling Up,
Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and the Home Office, who established a
joint taskforce in March 2022. The Home Office has primarily led on operational
matters relating to the processing of visas while DLUHC has led on all aspects
of the scheme from the point of arrival of Ukrainians into the UK, working closely
withlocalauthorities and devolved governments.
2 Our scope was:
•
to examine how the scheme was set up at speed;
•
to bring transparency around the total funding commitments made through
thescheme; and
•
to look at the risks and challenges that need to be managed as the scheme
moves forward.
3 The scheme is not the only route into the UK for Ukrainians seeking to escape
the war. A Ukraine Family visa scheme was launched on 4 March 2022 to enable
Ukrainians to join family members in the UK. Additionally, the Ukraine Extension
Scheme was created to enable Ukrainians who held temporary permission to be
in the UK to extend their stay. There had been 111,800 visa applications under
theFamily scheme and 24,800 applications under the Extension scheme as
at 29August 2023, meaning both have been much smaller in scale than the
HomesforUkraine scheme. Neither scheme have received any significant public
funding, with no tariff funding or thank you payments applicable under them.
Assuch, neitherof these two routes are within the scope of this audit.
4 This investigation does not seek to examine and report on value for money.
Ourfindings were based on analysis of evidence we collected between May
andOctober 2023.
Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme Appendix One 55
Methods
5 In examining these issues, we drew on a variety of evidence sources including
interviews, data analysis and document review.
Interviews
6 We undertook 29 interviews with 17 different organisations, and a roundtable
interview with a further nine organisations. We used information from these
interviews to build our understanding of the relevant topics and to inform further
interview and document requests and follow-up questions. Interviewees were often
identified by the organisations themselves and were selected based on the fit
between their job role and expertise and the focus of each interview.
7 Almost all our interviews were conducted virtually using Microsoft Teams.
Wedid not record the interviews. We took a note of each interview.
8 We interviewed key individuals from DLUHC and the Home Office to establish
how the scheme was set up and managed. These interviews covered: visa
processing, scheme governance, safeguarding, digital systems used for managing
the scheme, funding, data collection and monitoring of the scheme and the future
ofthe scheme.
9 We also interviewed representatives from 10 local authorities. We used sampling
criteria to select which local authorities we would interview out of the 374 local
authorities in total. These criteria were:
•
regional spread – We selected one local authority from each of the nine English
regions, as well as one from Scotland, and one from Wales. We tried to contact
two local authorities in the West Midlands but did not hear back. This meant
wewere not able to include that region in our sample;
•
number of people on the scheme per 100,000 people in a local authority
– Wechose local authorities which represented a range of those with the
highestproportion of people on the scheme per 100,000 in a region, and
thosewith a lesser rate;
•
geographic area – We chose local authorities which differed by dominant
geography and whether most of the area is urban or rural; and
•
types of local authority – Local authorities are divided into: Non-metropolitan
District, London Borough, Metropolitan District, Unitary Authority, and Council
Area. In our sample we have selected a range of local authorities that cover
each of these areas.
56 Appendix One Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme
10 The local authorities we met with were:
•
Buckinghamshire Council
•
South Cambridgeshire District Council
•
Monmouthshire County Council
•
Sunderland City Council
•
Derbyshire Dales District Council
•
South Hams District Council
•
Hull City Council
•
Angus Council
•
Preston City Council
•
Camden Council.
11 The topics covered in interviews with local authorities included: creation of the
scheme, ongoing relationship with DLUHC, funding, homelessness and the checks
conducted by local authorities. We also met with the Local Government Association
and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to further understand the views of
local authorities, and to ensure our findings from the 10 interviews were reflective
oflocal authorities’ views across the UK.
12 We conducted a roundtable interview with nine Voluntary and Community
Sector (VCS) organisations, some of which are recognised providers. We used
information from these discussions to inform our interviews and data requests
with DLUHC and the Home Office, and to understand and report on the set-up
andmanagement of the scheme. The VCS who attended were:
•
Citizens UK
•
Sanctuary Foundation
•
Love Bristol
•
Opora
•
Refugees at Home
•
Reset UK
•
St John of God Hospitaller Services
•
The Pickwell Foundation
•
Ukraine Sponsorship Pathway UK (USPUK).
Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme Appendix One 57
13 We also carried out interviews with the Office for National Statistics (ONS)
to understand its survey data on sponsors and arrivals on the scheme, and
the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain to understand its views on: the
background of the scheme, how it was managed by DLUHC and the Home Office,
and the opinions of Ukrainians on the scheme.
14 Audit Wales are currently conducting an audit looking at how the Welsh
Government is supporting Ukrainian refugees, with a particular focus on the
WelshGovernment’s Super Sponsor scheme. We have engaged with Audit Wales
to share details about our respective work, and other relevant information which
we have gathered over the course of our studies. Audit Wales are due to report
inWinter 2023-24.
Document review
15 We reviewed more than 300 documents which were provided by DLUHC,
theHome Office, ONS and the Local Government Association. These included:
•
governance documents such as programme board and cross-government
meeting papers and minutes;
•
relevant business cases, including for the scheme and for the Local Authority
Housing Fund;
•
documentation on scheme governance and management;
•
briefings for ministers on the scheme, including on policy decisions for
the design of the scheme, requirements for visa processing and on the
unaccompanied minors route;
•
published guidance for the scheme, including guidance for applicants
and sponsors;
•
documentation on visa processing by the Home Office including capacity
oftheteams and the checks required; and
•
monitoring data dashboards on arrivals to the scheme and homelessness.
58 Appendix One Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme
Data analysis
16 We analysed a range of data provided by DLUHC and the Home Office,
andpublished data including:
•
data on applications and arrivals on the scheme, which allowed us to
understand the scale of the scheme, and to detail when arrivals moved
totheUK and where in the UK their sponsors lived;
•
data on visa processing times, which allowed us to determine how long people
were having to wait for a response on their visa applications;
•
survey data from the ONS, which allowed us to understand the opinions and
outcomes of Ukrainians and sponsors on the scheme;
•
homelessness data, which allowed us to understand the risk and likelihood
ofhomelessness on the scheme; and
•
funding data, which allowed us to assess how much had been spent on
thescheme so far.
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