100,000 Brits Have Signed Up To Provide Homes For Ukrainian Refugees
3 min read
More than 100,000 households have signed up to offer Ukrainian refugees a place to stay in the UK just a day after the sponsorship scheme opened.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities thanked "the generosity of the British public" in registering their interest in Homes for Ukraine scheme, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson called it "fantastic".
Earlier on Tuesday Foreign Office minister James Cleverly said he was "actually quite proud" the website allowing Brits to put themselves forward had crashed within the first few minutes of going live.
He praised the public for their efforts to support the country following the devastating invasion by Russian forces.
Cleverly said the website collapsing under the weight of those trying to sign up to the long-awaited scheme was good “because it is a reflection of that generosity of the British people".
"We could have spent more time stress-testing this website and delayed it a couple of days before launching," he told LBC.
"But, frankly, I'm glad we moved quickly on this and we're moving quickly to ensure we're able to help the Ukrainian refugees."
The scheme, launched on Monday by Levelling Up secretary Michael Gove, will allow people to host refugees in their house or spare room.
They must do so for a minimum of six months, but in exchange will get a £350 “thank you” payment each month.
Local authorities will get more than £10,000 for each Ukrainian housed in their area to cover the cost of accessing services including education, health and some benefits.
There has been criticism that those wishing to take part at the moment will have to already have a named refugee to take in, as the government has yet to set up its now matching system.
But Cleverly said doing it this way round would allow refugees to arrive in the UK quicker.
"There are charities, faith groups, who are already in contact with people in Ukraine, people that need help and support,” he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"So, actually, rather than introduce a potentially slow and bureaucratic process, where people have already got connections - and there are a huge number of people and organisations that have already got connections with Ukrainians - rather than replicate, duplicate and slow that down, we want to be as agile and as quick as possible."
PoliticsHome Newsletters
PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe
