What Happens After Six Months?

Nobody knows yet what will happen in six months time.

Local authorities like West Sussex County Council are trying to figure out if they can find follow-on hosts, who can take over from the original hosts.

There is—in many parts of the country, including West Sussex—very very limited social housing available. Very often, British citizens wait for over a year, or even several years, to be moved into suitable accommodation. In the mean time, they are often housed in unsuitable—i.e., just short of unsafe—accommodation, or in bedsits or motel rooms; very often, this also involved being moved from place to place.

It is not clear yet whether our Ukrainian guests qualify even for this undesirable situation as a matter of course: but even if they were, it is really not ideal. They would qualify if they presented themselves to the local authorities as homeless, as the Government does have a duty to provide some form of accommodation in that situation. If they did this, the housing would be that described above: relatively safe, but very likely unsuitable.

Our Ukrainian guests will qualify for Housing Allowance. Roughly speaking, there are three relevant parts to the Government Benefits our guests may receive: (a) what we might call Universal Credit (UC) proper, (b) Housing Allowance (technically also part of Universal Credit), and, (c) Child Benefits. The amounts vary depending of various factors. Again roughly, UC proper varies between £300-500 per month; the Housing Benefit is up to a little over £800 per month in West Sussex (there is some regional variation); and Child Benefit is ~£20 per week for the first child, and ~£14 per week for any subsequent children. However, benefits max out at a little under £1700. Given what rental markets are like in much of the country, and especially in the South, this is very tricky.

Furthermore, many of our Ukrainian guests are mothers without their partners. Childcare will be an issue for those who want to work. Like rent, childcare is very expensive in this country.

These are all issues that various parts of government are thinking through right now. We wish we had cheerier news about this. For now, a few actions points include (a) preparing your guests for independence (see our The Long Term page), and (b) writing to your MPs asking for national government support.