thread for those interested in refugee hosting/sponsorship

[EezyOozy]

I thought I would start a new thread about this as I have just heard on BBC news that they are opening up a web form tomorrow to express interest. Apparently families/households can claim £350 a month (I assume for increased expenses) and refugees will be eligible to claim or benefits and work. We have large a spare room but live rurally so whilst I will express interest I'm not sure we will be taken up on it.

I thought I would start a new thread for those who are interested and to follow the progress of the registration procedure/how this pans out in practice.

Posted here because it's the only place I know gets plenty traffic, I will probably be asking for this to be moved but don't know where to.

Does anyone know if they will be eligible for support for nursery / childcare fees in order to find work? I want to help and initially thought it makes most sense to match with someone who has children around the same age as mine give or take a few years so they have access to toys we have and we have baby carriers, spare pram, old clothes etc. however I guess I’m slightly worried if the child is under 5 it could be a very long term stay as without childcare it would be impossible to work. Will they have access to the governments 30 hours a week for kids 3+?

[quote ilovebrie8]@SucculentChalice yes you would lose the single person CT discount.[/quote]
Thanks to all answering my questions. I would like to help if I can and I'm trying to work out if I can afford it. I have a flat which I use for work but not at weekends or even all weekdays. I could therefore have a lodger and I think legally, that would be the safest way for me to do it because otherwise I could end up having someone living in my property years from now and be unable to get it back.

So my council tax would increase (though not by all that much), my mortgage interest rate might go up for having a lodger and possibly my insurance, but I would presumably also have to provide enough money to the person/s for food, necessities, etc.. Perhaps I could just give them the £350, but I'm not sure if this would be enough for someone who has had to leave their country at such short notice?

I wish the government would consider making more of this tax deductible as it would help a lot.

My flat also has 2 bedrooms and I'm not there all that often and could feasibly sleep in the living room on the sofa bed when I am, so that would mean I could give two bedrooms to regugees and that would be the difference between a single person and 1 or 2 children. But I have a feeling that wouldn't be considered spacious enough and I'm worried about the local authority clamping down on me.

But if I didn't do it that way, they would be tenants rather than lodgers, and that would be far more onerous on me.

Sorry, I'm just rambling as I'm really keen to do this but worried about digging myself into a hole I cannot get out of.

The £350 is tax free. Rest depends on your mortgage provider, home insurance etc each may be different how they view it ...they can’t make it all tax deductible it’s a minefield ...everyone’s circumstances are different. The £350 isn’t taxed but I believe that’s to help with food and spending money to get them started ...

@ilovebrie8

The £350 is tax free. Rest depends on your mortgage provider, home insurance etc each may be different how they view it ...they can’t make it all tax deductible it’s a minefield ...everyone’s circumstances are different. The £350 isn’t taxed but I believe that’s to help with food and spending money to get them started ...

Maybe at first - it says they will be eligible for benefits, so they should be able to buy their own food in the longer term.

@Rvah99877

Does anyone know if they will be eligible for support for nursery / childcare fees in order to find work? I want to help and initially thought it makes most sense to match with someone who has children around the same age as mine give or take a few years so they have access to toys we have and we have baby carriers, spare pram, old clothes etc. however I guess I’m slightly worried if the child is under 5 it could be a very long term stay as without childcare it would be impossible to work. Will they have access to the governments 30 hours a week for kids 3+?

I'm not sure about the 30 free hours, but would assume they'd be eligible because they're saying they'll be eligible for school places so nursery care ought to be the same I'd have thought. It's also possible to claim up to 85% of the cost of childcare back via UC once you have a job, which would help many cover it. It would be good if the government website could have a few more details like that though!

@ilovebrie8

The £350 is tax free. Rest depends on your mortgage provider, home insurance etc each may be different how they view it ...they can’t make it all tax deductible it’s a minefield ...everyone’s circumstances are different. The £350 isn’t taxed but I believe that’s to help with food and spending money to get them started ...

£350 does not include food . The government website is clear , refugees will be given money for food.

Just attended the online event run by the Sanctuary Foundation that someone helpfully linked to earlier. Really good event and very positive. Key message was that the scheme being set up isn't quite there yet and is still being worked up but has real potential to work, and will be made to work by many charities who are working hard to find ways to link hosts to refugees and support everyone.

A few other things I noted:

Most are women with children.

Most likely to be keen to go back once safe.

Lots of national charities that can help with support, schooling etc via webchat.

Visa applications open on Friday. You apply with your details and also the details of the people you want to host.

Might need DSB, not quite clear yet.

Once checked should be a week or so from when you fill in the visa application until they arrive.

Reset UK is a charity which have a website Homesforukraine.org.uk just being set up to advertise your room and the refugees are matched. It is currently registering refugees but they expect to open up to hosts to register soon. They will do the matching, not a free for all.

I thought the online event was really good too. It’s great to see an organisation filling the gap to provide answers, training etc. I was impressed that over 8000 people were online for it.

We now have a local Facebook group set up for those hosting and those who cannot host but are offering to help by bringing around meals, toys, clothes, introducing their children to families with children of a similar age, show families where schools, doctors, toddlers groups, brownies, football clubs etc. lots of positive messages.

I haven't read all the comments so sorry if this has been covered, but, if you do this and have a mortgage, what are the legal implications? Also, if you rent, will it affect your lease? Will affect your insurance? What protection will you have if your guests trash the house or disappear with the family silver? Has anyone checked this out?

@Ikeabag

Sorry, am only 5 pages in but so many questions on here are dealt with on this site:

www.refugeesathome.org/

Including stating who lives with you, what your facilities are, whether you're happy to house unvaccinated people etc. The government form doesn't mention finding anyone on social media. The charity linked above is already established and has been doing this longer than a month. They have resources to read online. Housing refugees has been a thing for longer than this crisis, there are people with expertise doing it. (As a poster above mentioned - it's her job.) If the government's approach concerns you but you want to do it, a charity might be a good route.

I wonder if charities like Refugees at Home are going to manage to upsize to cope in any significant way. I registered with Refugees at Home over 6 months ago and am still waiting for my home visit. I believe they are desperate for doctors, social workers etc to carry out the home visits but these professions are currently very hard pressed. I think they need to consider looking at involving other sorts of people in home visits.

@MyMoneyIsAllSpent

I haven't read all the comments so sorry if this has been covered, but, if you do this and have a mortgage, what are the legal implications? Also, if you rent, will it affect your lease? Will affect your insurance? What protection will you have if your guests trash the house or disappear with the family silver? Has anyone checked this out?

Legally it's much the same as having a lodger or friend to move in with you. Unlikely to affect mortgage or insurance costs, but a good idea to confirm this with them. If you rent you may need your landlord's permission. Your insurance might well not cover you if they steal from you, as there usually needs to be a break in for it to count, though it might be possible to get a policy that does cover you for damage or theft from a lodger - you'd have to ask insurance providers.

We will probably register, still thinking through the practicalities at the moment. We only have a small spare room and all other facilities would be shared so wouldn't suit everyone but on the flip side we're on the outskirts of London with excellent amenities and public transport so may be ok for a single young person.

Just heard that 65,000 Ukrainian children are now enrolled in schools in Poland Hopefully the U.K. can be as well organised with those coming to the U.K..

@Parker231

Schools in U.K. are totally under funded as it is and aren’t hiring any targets for teacher training. So realistically we can’t educate 1000s more kids!

[quote OnceuponaRainbow18]@Parker231

Schools in U.K. are totally under funded as it is and aren’t hiring any targets for teacher training. So realistically we can’t educate 1000s more kids![/quote]
Agree re U.K. schools and funding but still amazing that another country has stepped up so quickly.

In my area, schools are under-occupied by quite a lot, and that affects their funding. The more pupils, the more money.

It says this on the site:

Refugees at Home does not host unaccompanied children or guests with severe mental health issues, convictions for dishonesty or violence, or substance abuse problems. It matches adults who take responsibility for their own actions.

I find the last sentence a bit odd?

@skybluee

It says this on the site:

Refugees at Home does not host unaccompanied children or guests with severe mental health issues, convictions for dishonesty or violence, or substance abuse problems. It matches adults who take responsibility for their own actions.

I find the last sentence a bit odd?

I assume the last sentence is just reiterating the first one - ie they work with refugees (and hosts) who are capable of taking responsibility for their own actions because they're not suffering from addictions or severe mental illness.

[quote OnceuponaRainbow18]@Parker231

Schools in U.K. are totally under funded as it is and aren’t hiring any targets for teacher training. So realistically we can’t educate 1000s more kids![/quote]
There are 32,000 schools in the UK so that's 2 per school...

@drspouse

It’s not as easy as that unfortunately. My school for a start is full we couldn’t take any other students. Neither could our feeder schools, they are already at max capacity. And we are short staffed

I imagine that Councils will approve, under the circumstances, larger class sizes.

Larger class sizes...the school situation is tricky, family member a teacher and they are already at full capacity re class sizes it's not fair on the teacher to keep adding they are on their knees plus the added issue where children don't speak English. Not all areas will be full but many are already stretched as it is to cope...

@Parker231

I imagine that Councils will approve, under the circumstances, larger class sizes.

I don’t. Councils are being given £10.5k per refugee child to cover their education. If they’ve got any sense they’ll use that money to make separate arrangements for them.

My area is 20% under. There are lots of places. I’m inner city. It’s been a shock to the local authority planning, because they weren’t expecting it when they planned for the number of schools and places. They put It down to Brexit and people moving back to other countries or elsewhere within the U.K. I suspect the growth of wfh in the last couple of years contributes also.