Herefordshire funding boost for Ukrainian refugee sponsors

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The council hopes the additional money will encourage sponsors to extend their support for refugees

Residents in Herefordshire who welcome Ukrainian refugee into their homes will receive an extra monthly boost of £350.

The money is on top of the £350 already offered per month by the county council under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

It comes in response to the increasing costs of goods and services, the local authority says.

The funding is aimed at encouraging sponsors to host families beyond the initial phase of the programme.

The move means each new approved Homes for Ukraine sponsor will receive the extra £350 a month for five months. The funding will be back-dated to the start of November 2022 and will run to the end of March 2023.

Existing sponsors will also each receive the payments of £700 covering the same period.

"We should all do all we can to help people who were forced to flee their own country, through no fault of their own, to live settled lives for as long as they wish to be in Herefordshire," said councillor Pauline Crockett, cabinet member for health and wellbeing.

She added: "Long-term, trusting and cooperative relationships help lower rates of anxiety and depression, promote higher self-esteem and greater empathy."

The latest council figures, to the end of November 2022, show that 200 Herefordshire sponsors host 539 guests who have arrived from Ukraine.

At least another 160 guests are expected to arrive during the current funding period to March.

There are 23 Ukrainian families in temporary accommodation in the county.