Ukraine: NI households offered £350 per month to host refugees

Ukrainian refugees wait for a train at the railway station in Lviv, western Ukraine

Households in Northern Ireland will be offered £350 a month to open their homes to people fleeing the war in Ukraine.

Earlier Housing Secretary Michael Gove said that tens of thousands of people could come to the UK under the scheme.

The Northern Ireland Executive Office said has encouraged expressions of interest in providing accommodation from both individuals and groups.

A website to express an interest in being a sponsor is launching on Monday.

Westminster confirmed that, like in other parts of the UK, people in Northern Ireland who allow Ukrainian refugees to stay in their homes rent-free will be entitled to government payments.

Details of the Homes for Ukraine scheme were announced on Sunday and the project will be overseen by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

BBC News NI asked the department how additional funding would be allocated to support refugees coming to Northern Ireland, including any extra school places and healthcare provision they may need.

It said the department will work with devolved administrations to decide the best funding route for them, and discussions were ongoing.

However, ministers working in Stormont's devolved government - the Northern Ireland Executive - are currently having problems with the allocation of their existing funds.

Paul Givan, from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), resigned in protest over post-Brexit trade rules in early February, which meant the deputy first minister automatically lost her job.

Without both leaders in post, Northern Ireland Executive ministers cannot meet as a team to take any major new decisions.

That means that they have not been able to sign off on a three-year budget, and Finance Minister Conor Murphy also said a pot of £300m from the Treasury cannot be spent without executive approval.

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In England, local authorities will also receive £10,500 in extra funding per refugee for support services - with more for children of school age, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said.

It is not yet known how this money will be allocated in Northern Ireland.

On Sunday night, a spokesperson for the Executive Office said that "while not all the details have yet been announced by Westminster, we are working at pace, making preparations so we stand ready to provide sanctuary to Ukrainian refugees".

"Mindful of the pressure on social housing stock, officials are also engaging with councils and the voluntary and community sector to find creative ways of bringing suitable accommodation into use and identifying all available capacity," added the spokesperson.

"We are in close contact with the Home Office and the Department for Levelling Up, Communities and Housing and with colleagues in other jurisdictions.

"We will participate fully in this humanitarian effort. Partnership across sectors and wider society will be key to ensuring we can support as many Ukrainian people seeking sanctuary here as possible."

Matthew O'Toole previously worked in Downing Street and the Treasury as a civil servant

On Sunday morning, the SDLP's economy spokesperson called on Northern Ireland's devolved government to "do more" to support Ukrainian refugees who are fleeing the war.

Matthew O'Toole made the call after leaders in Scotland and Wales proposed both their governments become "super sponsors" to take in more refugees.

He said it was "not good enough" for Stormont to take no action because of the current absence of its leaders.

'The biggest humanitarian crisis'

Mr O'Toole was asked if there was more Stormont could do to support Ukrainian refugees in the absence of a first and deputy first minister.

"Yes, there definitely is," he told the BBC's Sunday Politics programme.

"From my perspective, I've already called on on the Executive Office to do more more to prepare to receive Ukrainian refugees.

"This is the biggest humanitarian crisis on our continent in probably most of our lifetimes, probably since the Second World War."

The Home Office in Westminster has faced criticism in recent days over the numbers of Ukrainian refugees it has allowed into the UK so far and the amount of bureaucracy involved its visa system.

In contrast, EU member states, including the Republic of Ireland, lifted visa restrictions on Ukrainians arriving in the country shortly after Russia invaded.

To date, about 5,500 Ukrainian refugees have now arrived in the Republic of Ireland, the country's taoiseach (prime minister) confirmed to the BBC's Sunday Morning programme.