Recommendations & Conclusions
20 items
2
Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Homes for Ukraine
Accepted
We are concerned that the risk of homelessness among Ukrainians in the UK is likely to increase as more sponsorships end or break down. There is no obligation for UK sponsors to host Ukrainian guests for the whole time they are in the UK, with the UK government only asking …
Government response. The government agrees, stating it already undertakes a variety of actions to encourage new sponsors, including using an Expression of Interest portal, leveraging communication moments, and collaborating with partners. Councils also receive flexible tariff funding for support interventions.
HM Treasury
3
Recommendation
Fourteenth Report - Homes for Ukraine
Accepted
The Home Office’s failure to meet its targets for processing visas is leaving some Ukrainians facing an unacceptably long wait for decisions to be made on their applications. Initially visa turnaround times for the scheme were longer than the Home Office wanted. In March 2022, of the 26,000 applications received, …
Government response. The Home Office has formally introduced a 15-working-day customer service standard for processing visas from February 2024, which will be published quarterly. It also has plans to reprioritise resources and leverage experienced caseworkers and systems to manage future surges in …
HM Treasury
4
Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Homes for Ukraine
Accepted
DLUHC is making decisions about future funding of the scheme without a proper understanding of how effective funding has been in supporting those taking part in the scheme to date. Local authorities initially received funding of £10,500 per arrival. Since 31 December 2022, DLUHC has reduced this to £5,900 for …
Government response. DLUHC uses a variety of sources, including ongoing engagement with voluntary community sector organisations and local authorities, and quarterly local authority spending reports, to inform funding decisions. The department will also continue to work with ONS and Home Office to …
HM Treasury
5
Recommendation
Fourteenth Report - Homes for Ukraine
Accepted
The scheme was set up at speed and has helped 141,200 Ukrainians come to the UK, but DLUHC does not know fully what aspects of the scheme have or have not worked and whether overall the scheme has been value for money. DLUHC has gathered some, largely qualitative, information on …
Government response. DLUHC is continuously monitoring data and evidence, has undertaken an exercise to identify lessons from the sponsorship model, and is developing an emergency sponsorship playbook for future schemes. It is also exploring options for a further value for money evaluation …
HM Treasury
1
Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Homes for Ukraine
Accepted
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC) and the Home Office about the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.1
Government response. The government announced the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme on February 19, 2024, allowing existing visa holders to apply for an additional 18 months of permission to remain in the UK, with applications opening in early 2025. This scheme will offer …
HM Treasury
7
Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Homes for Ukraine
Accepted
We raised our concerns about the challenges facing Ukrainians whose visas are coming to an end. We also asked the Home Office when it thought it would make a decision so it could provide reassurance to those taking part in the scheme, especially those who do not have a home …
Government response. The government announced on 19 February 2024 that existing Ukraine scheme visa holders can apply for an additional 18 months' permission to remain under the new Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme, opening early 2025. This provides continued rights to work, benefits, …
HM Treasury
8
Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Homes for Ukraine
Accepted
The Home Office is responsible for processing the visas of those applying to be part of the scheme. By January 2024 the Home Office had received 219,800 visa applications and issued 178,600 visas to people.11 The NAO found that at the start of the scheme, the Home Office had not …
Government response. The Home Office has formally introduced a 15 working day customer service standard for Homes for Ukraine applications from February 2024, which will be published quarterly. This standard covers non-complex and some complex applications, with resources allocated to meet these …
HM Treasury
9
Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Homes for Ukraine
Accepted
Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, those applying for any type of UK visa had to attend a visa application centre to give their biometrics before they came to the UK. The Home Office told us that for obvious reasons it had had to shut its visa application centre in …
Government response. The government has formally introduced a 15 working day customer service standard for Homes for Ukraine applications from February 2024, which will be published quarterly. It has also ensured sufficient resources and plans for future surges to meet these targets.
HM Treasury
10
Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Homes for Ukraine
Accepted
The Home Office also increased the number of people working on the Homes for Ukraine scheme. From a minimum of 165 staff working on the scheme in March 2022, this number grew to over 1,000 by June 2022 working across all Ukraine schemes. This included 554 officials from HM Revenue …
Government response. The government acknowledges the committee's implied recommendation regarding visa processing times and states it has implemented a formal 15-working-day customer service standard for Homes for Ukraine applications from February 2024, which will be published quarterly. It also ensures sufficient resources …
HM Treasury
11
Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Homes for Ukraine
Accepted
The NAO reported that the Home Office believed several issues contributed to slower turnaround times. These included: technical changes to the application process; an influx of applications when the Scottish Government announced it would be pausing the super sponsorship scheme; and the impact of staff being moved back to other …
Government response. The government has formally introduced a 15 working day customer service standard for Homes for Ukraine applications from February 2024, which will be published quarterly. It has also ensured sufficient resources and plans for future surges to meet these targets.
HM Treasury
12
Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Homes for Ukraine
Accepted
We were concerned about the impact of processing the volume of visa applications received as part of the Homes for Ukraine scheme would have on other visa routes. We therefore asked the Home Office what it was doing to ensure an adequate standard of service across other areas. The Home …
Government response. The government has formally introduced a 15 working day customer service standard for Homes for Ukraine applications from February 2024, which will be published quarterly. It has also ensured sufficient resources and plans for future surges to meet these targets.
HM Treasury
13
Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Homes for Ukraine
Accepted
We asked what would happen if there was a sudden surge in applications under the scheme and whether the Home Office would have sufficient capacity to support such a surge whilst maintaining standards of service in other areas of its work. The Home Office explained that there were a number …
Government response. The Home Office has formally introduced a 15 working day customer service standard for Homes for Ukraine applications from February 2024, to be published quarterly. It ensures sufficient resources are in place to meet targets and maintain surge capacity through …
HM Treasury
24
Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Homes for Ukraine
Accepted
We questioned the usefulness of the spend data DLUHC had collected from local authorities, given it was often qualitative and provided voluntarily.19 DLUHC stressed that from the start it had needed to balance the demand for data against placing a burden on local authorities.20 Preventing homelessness
Government response. DLUHC now requires local authorities to provide details on how they spend their tariff as part of the quarterly payments process, improving understanding for future funding decisions. The department continues to use various data sources and collaborate with partners to …
HM Treasury
16
Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Homes for Ukraine
Accepted
The NAO found that DLUHC did not accurately know how many people on the scheme were likely to become homeless soon or had already experienced homelessness, as 30% of English local authorities regularly failed to provide homelessness data on the scheme to DLUHC.23 We therefore asked DLHUC why it did …
Government response. DLUHC has already taken action to improve local authority response rates for Ukraine homelessness data, achieving a 90% rate in February 2024 through engagement, reminders, and data imputation. The department will continue these efforts and utilize experts to understand local …
HM Treasury
17
Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Homes for Ukraine
Accepted
DLUHC told us that it would like to avoid any of those taking part in the scheme from experiencing homelessness or the risk of homelessness, but noted that the current levels were “relatively low”.26 The NAO found that between 24 February 2022 and 31 August 2023, 4,890 households in England …
Government response. The government states DLUHC has already improved local authority data collection on Ukraine homelessness, increasing response rates to 90% through close collaboration and reminders. It also imputes data for non-responding authorities to maintain an accurate picture.
HM Treasury
18
Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Homes for Ukraine
Accepted
DLLUHC told us that 790 Ukrainian households taking part in the scheme were currently in temporary accommodation, and 8% were either experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness at any particular time.28 We asked DLUHC how it would respond in the event of an increase in the levels of homelessness …
Government response. The government reiterates its provision of £120 million UK-wide funding for homelessness prevention in 2024-25, following £150 million in 2023-24, which can be used to support all households, including Ukrainian families, at risk of homelessness.
HM Treasury
19
Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Homes for Ukraine
Accepted
Any adult in the UK can act as a sponsor providing they pass eligibility checks conducted by the Home Office and local authorities. Sponsors are expected to offer accommodation for at least six months, although many relationships have lasted longer and some have ended before then. By end of March …
Government response. DLUHC has conducted detailed analysis using ONS survey data and other evidence, showing thank you payments offer good value for money compared to alternative accommodation options and support integration. The government also announced £120 million UK-wide funding for homelessness prevention …
HM Treasury
20
Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Homes for Ukraine
Accepted
DLUHC’s initial planning assumption had been that 50% of sponsorships could breakdown, leading to homelessness.32 We asked DLUHC what impact the decision to extend thank you payments would have on sustaining sponsor-host relationships and what analysis it had done to inform its decision to extend payments for another year. DLUHC …
Government response. DLUHC has already conducted detailed analysis, using ONS survey data and other metrics, to understand the value for money and impact of thank you payments on sustaining sponsor-host relationships. This analysis informed their decision to extend payments and shows the …
HM Treasury
25
Conclusion
Fourteenth Report - Homes for Ukraine
Accepted
The NAO found that in early 2023, DLUHC had conducted an exercise to identify the lessons that could be learned from the scheme’s sponsorship model. That exercise included recommendations to government on the running of the current scheme, and on the design of any future emergency sponsorship schemes. DLUHC was …
Government response. The government states it is continuing its continuous evolution approach, monitoring data, undertaking lessons learned exercises, and developing an emergency sponsorship playbook with a target completion date of Spring 2025. It is also exploring options for a further value for …
HM Treasury
26
Recommendation
Fourteenth Report - Homes for Ukraine
Accepted
We asked DLUHC whether it would be commissioning a fuller evaluation of the scheme. DLUHC had originally planned a process-focused evaluation, which it intended to complete by autumn 2023, but it paused work on this in spring 2023. DLUHC told us that it did not have a timeframe for an …
Government response. The government states it is exploring options for a fuller value for money evaluation of the scheme, with a target implementation date of Spring 2025. It will continue to collect and monitor relevant data as part of its continuous evolution …
HM Treasury