Payments under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme

£200 initial payment for guests

Every guest will be entitled to a £200 interim payment to help with subsistence costs which will be provided by Central Bedfordshire Council. This £200 is not counted as part of any other benefit scheme which you may be able to claim and will not need to be re-paid.

Please note, this £200 is only available to guests who have arrived under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme, it is not available for guests who have arrived under the Ukraine Family Scheme. The payment can only be issued to the guest's email address and not to the sponsor. Vouchers for children will be issued to the adult guest.

Contact Central Bedfordshire Council’s Ukraine Support team on 0300 300 8855 or by email at homesforukraine@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk to arrange for this payment.

Thank you payment to sponsors and hosts

As a way of thanking sponsors and hosts for their generosity, they will be offered an optional payment from the UK government.

The present rate is £500 a month for those with guests who have been in the UK for more than 12 months, and £350 for those here less than a year. However, we have taken the decision to increase the rate to £600 a month to all sponsors and hosts regardless of their guests' length of stay in the UK.

Please note, this thank you payment is only available to sponsors and hosts under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme, it is not available to those hosting under the Ukraine Family Scheme.

Thank you payments can only start once we have visited the property, accepted the accommodation as suitable and completed DBS checks. We then need to confirm guests have arrived carried out a welfare check to ensure there are no serious safeguarding concerns. The payment will be paid in arrears (this means they will start one month after guests arrive) and payments will only continue while guests remain living in the property, under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

The payment will be provided by Central Bedfordshire Council.

Request your thank you payment

If you have any queries about the process then please contact Central Bedfordshire Council’s Ukraine Support team on 0300 300 8855 or by email at homesforukraine@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk.

Payments for hosts of unaccompanied children

Children and minors under the age of 18, who have already applied to the Homes for Ukraine Scheme, will now be allowed to come to the UK without a parent or guardian. The sponsor should be someone who is personally known to the parents, and extensive checks will be carried out ahead of any placement being approved. Sponsors will be required to have authorisation from the parents or guardians of anyone under 18 naming the sponsor in the role for each unaccompanied minor.

Sponsors will be asked to commit to hosting for up to 3 years, or until the guest turns 18. The sponsorship should last for at least six months. Sponsors can claim the monthly thank you payments for the full three-year period they host the child or until the child turns 18.

If an individual turns 18 and has not been in the country for 12 months, the sponsor will be eligible for the payment for up to 12 months. Where the individual turns 18 but has already been resident for more than 12 months, thank you payments to sponsors will stop.

Council Tax

The thank you payment will not affect the sponsor’s Council Tax status. If a sponsor claims a Council Tax discount such as a single-person household discount, this will be protected.

As well as there being no impact on a sponsor’s discount for their main home, the government scheme also provides a 50% discount for empty or second homes that are used to house Ukrainians on the scheme, however we will grant a discretionary award so that any sponsors using their empty or second home or Ukrainians will not be charged any Council Tax if it is used for Ukrainians under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.