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British Red Cross reviews Homes for Ukraine visa scheme, identifies successes and challenges

Summary

New report looks at what can be learned about solutions to refugee accommodation from Ukraine response

By EIN
Date of Publication:

A report published today by the British Red Cross reviews the provision of accommodation to Ukrainians who sought safety in the UK under the Home Office's Ukraine visa schemes.

UNHCR logoThe 54-page report, Finding a Safe Home: What can we learn about solutions to refugee accommodation from the Ukraine response?, can be downloaded here.

"This report begins by exploring the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and the policy response. It then sets out definitions and interpretations of integration and accommodation, informed by the analysis of people displaced from Ukraine. We review the provision of initial and longer-term accommodation, spotlighting accommodation solutions and making recommendations to policymakers on strengthening support. Lastly, based on this research, we propose guiding principles for the UK's future response to crises," the British Red Cross said.

As the report notes, the UK's bespoke Ukraine visa schemes are unique both in scale and design, having so far provided safety to over 200,000 people. The report further notes: "By August 2022, more people had received temporary protection in the UK under the two main Ukraine visa schemes than the total who received protection under the country's asylum system and refugee resettlement routes combined between 2016 and 2021."

Overall, the British Red Cross finds the schemes have successfully delivered safety at scale for Ukrainian refugees, but the report highlights how some new arrivals have experienced challenges with unsuitable accommodation, precarious housing and homelessness.

The report states: "Having fled to safety in the UK, too many Ukrainian people are facing precarious housing. This has a significant effect on their physical and emotional wellbeing, and their prospect of integration. Finding a safe home has proved a challenge for other displaced people too, such as Afghans."

According to the British Red Cross, over 9,000 Ukrainian families have been at risk of homelessness since the start of the Homes for Ukraine scheme. The report identifies the main causes of homelessness as being weaknesses in the Homes for Ukraine scheme with regard to safeguarding and breakdowns in hosting relationships.

The report explains: "Homes for Ukraine is a private sponsorship model, in which hosts are required to provide a minimum of six months' accommodation to displaced Ukrainians. It also allows for informal matching through social media channels. Although government funding is available to support displaced Ukrainians and hosts, research discussions highlighted that strengthening the initial scheme design could have helped with some of its challenges in implementation. For instance, a short-term hosting commitment, coupled with a lack of clarity over the length of hosting and the absence of a transition plan into longer-term accommodation, did not sufficiently prepare Ukrainians for independent living. This led to significant uncertainty."

The report examines the challenges of the Homes for Ukraine in detail. It highlights how an absence of robust safeguarding measures led to some instances of exploitation, fraud and scamming experienced by Ukrainians. Breakdowns in hosting arrangements occurred due to a lack of sufficient training and ongoing support for hosts, and cost-of-living pressures and fatigue with hosting.

Learning from these challenges demonstrates how schemes can be improved, the British Red Cross says, and the report makes a number of recommendations to strengthen current and future support for Ukrainians and for refugees more broadly.

The British Red Cross concludes: "This research, informed by an evidence review and fieldwork with people displaced from Ukraine, highlights the need to strengthen the Homes for Ukraine scheme. Reinforcement is vital to ensure its safety and sustainability. In addition, efforts are needed to reduce the barriers that prevent refugees from finding homes in the private rented sector. Implementing a more equal and long-term approach to integration that can support all displaced people is also critical.

"There are solutions to accommodation challenges. This research highlights initiatives and good practice from across the UK in offering safety to the Ukrainian people. Many of these could be replicated to the benefit of all refugees and strengthen the system for future crisis response. Doing so would support the UK in delivering on its domestic and international responsibilities. It would also enable local communities to offer safety, and benefit from the diverse contributions and resilience of refugees as they rebuild their lives in the UK."