Nearly a quarter of people in the UK registered as sponsors under the Homes for Ukraine scheme say they will provide accommodation to those fleeing the war for more than a year if needed.
Nearly six months on from the scheme's launch, the Office for National Statistics has carried out its first survey of such sponsors, sending questions to all those who registered to better understand their experiences and intentions.
More than 43,000 people responded, a 41 per cent response rate among overall registered sponsors.
Length of time sponsors willing to host
A fifth said they were happy to host Ukrainians for six months, the minimum length of time that people were asked to offer accommodation under the scheme.
Three quarters of respondents said they would be willing to accommodate Ukrainians for more than six months.
Twenty-three per cent of sponsors said they would host Ukrainians for more than a year if needed.
In March, the British government launched the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme, also known as Homes for Ukraine, which allowed Ukrainian citizens and their family members to come to the UK if they had a named sponsor who could provide suitable accommodation.
Volunteers who host Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion receive £350 ($428) a month per family as a “thank you”, provided they do not charge rent. However, hosts can ask for a reasonable contribution for food, water, gas or electricity.
Hosts have already raised concerns that this government money is not going far enough in covering energy and food bills, particularly amid soaring prices.
Bearing in mind a nationwide housing shortage and with 9,500 Afghan refugees yet to be permanently settled, refugee charities have been sounding the alarm over the availability of long-term accommodation for Ukrainians once their initial time with a host ends.
In June, the Home Office revealed that almost 500 families and 200 single households had been made homeless after hosting arrangements, including those with family members, had broken down.
Ukrainians arriving on a family visa sponsorship scheme do not get government funding.
Enver Solomon from the Refugee Council has said that both schemes “need sufficient attention and support to ensure they are fit for purpose to protect refugees”.
Tim Gibbs from the ONS said the responses were “useful” and showed a lot of “generosity and goodwill” from hosts, but he added that more support was needed.
“We see a lot of generosity and goodwill in what hosts report doing for their guests. The majority are still hosting and many indicate a willingness to host beyond the initial six months.
“However, we also see the additional work and expense involved in hosting, with some saying more or ongoing support would be welcomed.”
Cost of living crisis affecting hosts' ability to support
According to the survey findings, nearly one in 10 of current or previous sponsors said the rising cost of living “very much” affected their ability to provide support. A further 21 per cent said it affected them “quite a lot”.
Almost all hosts said they regularly provided some form of support beyond accommodation, including showing guests around their new surroundings, helping them settle into the community and taking them to appointments.
Challenges in hosting revealed
The biggest challenges hosts reported facing was helping their guests apply for benefits, accessing public services and opening bank accounts.
All sponsors were asked what help they thought would be useful for sponsors or hosts. Nearly 60 per cent said that tips and advice about providing support would be useful and half the respondents said they thought more information about Ukraine and Ukrainian culture would be welcome.
Nearly 40 per cent said more support for being a sponsor would encourage them to host for longer.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20profile
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Results
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,600m; Winner: RB Kings Bay, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: AF Ensito, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash
8pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,400m; Winner: AF Sourouh, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
8.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m; Winner: Baaher, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
9pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Mootahady, Antonio Fresu, Eric Lemartinel
9.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Dubai Canal, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
10pm: Al Ain Cup – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Harrab, Bernardo Pinheiro, Majed Al Jahouri
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
Four%20scenarios%20for%20Ukraine%20war
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CREW
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START-UPS%20IN%20BATCH%204%20OF%20SANABIL%20500'S%20ACCELERATOR%20PROGRAMME
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Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates