Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 27
27
Deferred
Homes for Ukraine scheme provides better value for money despite incomplete cost calculations.
Conclusion
We asked DLUHC about the value for money of the scheme. DLUHC told us that it thought the cost of scheme was much lower than for other resettlement schemes. It explained that the cost per night of the accommodation was lower as sponsors provided the accommodation.44 Thank you payments equated 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. This calculation, however, did not factor in additional funding that was available under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, for example, £150 million of funding given to local authorities for homelessness prevention.45 DLUHC also considered that, although hard-to-quantify, the support offered by sponsors to individuals, would otherwise have fallen on the public purse to help people into appropriate education or training or work opportunities. The Home Office noted that it was difficult to measure the value for money of a humanitarian scheme, because it was about saving people’s lives, but told us that it had spent just over £50 million on resourcing the scheme.46 41 Letter to Committee of Public Accounts from Permanent Secretary, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, 7 December 2023 42 C&AG’s Report para 4.21 43 Qq 78–79; C&AG’s Report paras 4.22 44 Qq 76–77 45 C&AG’s Report para 3.7 46 Qq 76–77 Homes for Ukraine 17
Government Response Summary
DLUHC continuously monitors scheme progress and has developed an emergency sponsorship playbook. The department is currently exploring options for a further value for money evaluation of the scheme, with a target implementation date of Spring 2025, while affirming the scheme's existing value for money.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
5.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Spring 2025 5.2 The department has committed to a continuous evolution approach, refining the scheme as lessons are learnt. It continues to monitor various data and evidence across the scheme to assess progress against key milestones and metrics (as set out in the NAO Report dated October 2023), reporting regularly to the Homes for Ukraine Programme Board. This includes, analysis of LA Foundry returns, homelessness statistics, ONS surveys and LA quarterly returns as part of the LA tariff and Thank You payment assurance process which has demonstrated effective use of the funding. 5.3 The department undertook an exercise to identify the emerging lessons of the sponsorship model to inform future refugee policy and preparation. It is also developing an emergency sponsorship playbook to equip future decision makers with the key considerations for establishing a similar scheme in future. 5.4 It will continue to collect and monitor this data and is currently exploring options for a further value for money evaluation of the scheme. 5.5 It is clear, however, that Homes for Ukraine was an effective value for money approach for accommodating high numbers of Ukrainians at speed. As stated above, DLUHC looked in detail at a range of evidence to understand the value for money case for thank you payments, this showed that thank you payments are good value for money compared to the counterfactual of government support for alternative accommodation options/ homelessness support. It costs £6 to £8 per person per night to provide a Ukrainian sponsorship accommodation (based on monthly thank you payments of £350 per household in the first year, and £500 per household thereafter), which is much lower than the costs to accommodate households in hotels or temporary accommodation and lower than housing benefit costs to support private rental option.