Homes for Ukraine: Hampshire hosts to get extra £200 through winter

About 1,100 Ukrainian families have been supported by Hampshire households

People who have provided a home to Ukrainian refugees in Hampshire are being given extra money to cover rising winter costs.

Hampshire County Council said it would pay residents hosting families an extra £200 per month for five months.

The authority said the money was to help hosts as many may be facing cost-of-living pressures.

About 1,100 families who have fled Ukraine have been supported by households in the county.

County council leader, councillor Rob Humby, said: "We have seen a hugely positive response from local residents to the plight of the Ukrainian people.

"We feel this is the fair and right thing to do, particularly over the winter months."

The authority said the payments, which start in October, would be funded "via the grant paid to upper tier local authorities to support implementation of the Homes for Ukraine scheme locally".

Currently host families, under the government's Homes for Ukraine scheme, are provided with a payment of £350 per month.

The monthly government payments continue for up to one year.