Wiltshire Council
Cabinet
31 January 2023

Agenda Item 5 – Public Participation and Questions from Councillors

Questions from: Cllr David Vigar, Trowbridge Grove

To: Cllr Richard Clewer Leader of the Council and Cabinet
Member for Economic Development, Military-Civilian
Integration, Heritage, Arts, Tourism, Health and Wellbeing
Status of Homes for Ukraine programme in Wiltshire

Question 1 (22-334)
How many Ukrainian individuals and families are now living in Wiltshire under the
Homes for Ukraine programme?
Response
“living in Wiltshire under the Homes for Ukraine programme” means guests who are
living with sponsors and not in independent accommodation, there are 820
individuals in 358 family units in sponsor households in Wiltshire.

Question 2 (22-335)
How many Wiltshire sponsors have ended their hosting arrangements?

Response
We do not specifically record sponsors who have ended their hosting arrangements,
we record guests who have left sponsor households, which does include those
whose sponsor did not explicitly end the arrangement.
503 individuals in 231 family units are no longer in sponsorship arrangements.

Question 3 (22-336)
How many Ukrainian households have been found new hosts by Wiltshire Council
following the end of a sponsorship?
Response
107 individuals in 53 family units have been found new hosts.

Question 4 (22-337)
How many Ukrainian households are now being accommodated by the Council after
becoming homeless?
Response
2

Question 5 (22-338)
Does the Council know how many Ukrainian households have progressed from a
sponsorship into rented accommodation in Wiltshire?
Response
281 individuals in 122 family units have progressed into rented accommodation in
Wiltshire.

Question 6 (22-339)
How many Ukrainian families have benefitted from the WiltsLet programme to
guarantee deposits and pay one month’s rent in advance?
Response
There were 7 families who were threatened with homelessness and who secured
funding through the wilts let scheme as they had no savings.

Question 7 (22-340)
How much has the Council now received from central Government as a result of the
‘tariff’ payments of £10,500 per Ukrainian?
Response
We have received to date £11.459m from central government as at the end Dec
2022.

Question 8 (22-341)
How much of that tariff funding has been spent?
Response: As at the end of December £1.821m has been spent. There is further
spend expected and committed for 2022/23 and also for 2023/24, as government
have confirmed the monies can be rolled forward into the next financial year. The
funding is ring-fenced and it is assumed that any unspent monies will be repaid to
the minister.Page 15Support for private rentals by Ukrainians

Question 9 (22-342)
Has the Council recruited the dedicated worker to work with sponsors and Ukrainian
families on the options available in the private rented sector as planned?
Response
This post has been advertised 4 times but sadly the post has not attracted any
suitable candidates. The post is now on an ongoing advert until December 2023.

Question 10 (22-343)
One Homes for Ukraine sponsor said: “I think that the main issue that the Council
needs to face up to is producing a plan to pilot our guests on to moving into rented
accommodation near to the schools that their children are attending. This way they
can look forward to starting an independent life when they feel ready for it.” Do you
agree?
Response
No.

Question 11 (22-344)
Many Ukrainians are now seeking to move into rented property but in some cases
will not have sufficient income as owners typically require tenants to earn 2.5 times
their rent - which is £2,500 per month when renting an average two-bedroom home
in Wiltshire for around £1,000. However, when wages, Universal Credit, including the
housing payment, and child benefit are taken into account, families may have
income that comes very close to the required level. Using £1m alone of the tariff
funding to provide rent support payments averaging £250 per month or £3,000 per
year might enable more than 300 Ukrainian households to afford a private rental and
achieve independent living for a year – with no delay – and alongside other uses of
the funding. Does this not provide a timely way to use some of the tariff funding to
assist a significant number of the refugees that it is intended to help?
Response
No, it creates a short term solution but a much bigger longer term problem.

Question 12 (22-345)
Given hosts are paid a £350 ‘thank you’ payment per month by the Government,
rising to £500 after one year, would you consider using the tariff funding to make a
£350 per month ‘thank you’ payment to property owners who rent properties to
Ukrainian families as an alternative means of supporting rentals?

Response
No.

Question 13 (22-346)
Will the Council act as a guarantor for Ukrainian families’ rentals? If not, can you
please explain why?
Response
Wiltshire Council is exploring the legalities and logistics to understand if this is viable.
However, updated guidance has recently been published relating to this area so we
are reviewing this guidance and will develop plans as appropriate.

Question 14 (22-347)
Has the Council made any Discretionary Housing Payments to Ukrainian
households?
Response
DHP does not record applicants' nationality.

Question 15 (22-348)
Does the Council regard the Discretionary Housing Payments as a potential route for
Ukrainian families to gain help with short-term rental costs?
Response
Only if they are receipt of the housing element of universal credit and meet other
criteria.
Support for Ukrainians seeking work
Question 16 (22-349)
For many Ukrainians, a key barrier to earning sufficient money to rent a property is
finding jobs that use their qualifications and experience but can also be performed
with their level of English language competence. Professional careers guidance can
help them identify opportunities. However, I understand that neither the Building
Bridges service nor Work Wiltshire are currently taking on new adult referrals. In
November you suggested that the Council might consider employing a dedicated
case worker to help with employment. Given the importance of the issue, are you
going ahead with this recruitment?
Response
Community First Lead on Building Bridges and additional funding has been secured
to continue the programme from April 2023. They are still taking registrations of
interest through their website, although direct delivery to participants is not taking
place currently.
Work Wiltshire has not previously delivered careers education information advice
and guidance to adults, but FACL (Family and Community Learning) provide this as
part of their adult learning courses which includes ESOL and employability. The Post
16 Participation Team continue to support any 16-18 (yrs 12/13) from Ukraine as
part of their business-as-usual support to those Not in Employment Education
Training and track that cohort.
From a Wiltshire Council perspective, no decision has been made to recruit a
dedicated case worker to support with recruitment.

Question 17 (22-350)
How is the council making use of its network and influence in the business
community to help find employment for the refugees?
Response
Wiltshire Council is currently exploring how to best support guests into suitable
employment. The Family and Community Learning team have developed ESOL
courses to support our learners to develop the language skills that they need for
work, life and further study. Our ESOL courses embed employability skills, with our
beginner-level Life in the UK course supporting learners to develop the
communication skills for living in the UK, such as using public transport, accessing
health services and looking for work. These English skills are developed further
through our online intermediate and higher courses – our higher course has a
particular focus on the spoken and written English skills needed for the workplace.
We also offer courses which develop specific employability skills such as supporting
learning in schools with our Working in Schools course, as well as Customer Service
and Food Safety courses planned in conjunction with the Job Centre Plus.
Counselling

Question 18 (22-351)
Ukrainians appreciate the services being provided by the Council’s H4U team, such
as English lessons and placement support. Is it possible also to consider funding
some counselling to meet the mental health needs of guests? These needs arise
from issues such as: direct experience of the war; ongoing anxiety over friends and
family in Ukraine; and challenges faced by children and teenagers in adjusting to life
in a new country. Hosts have reported that this is a growing problem as the war
extends and becomes more attritional. It is beyond the competence of typical
sponsors to address this area of need and they would welcome a “one stop” source
of counselling support

Response
We work closely with our partners, and we are currently exploring what provision
may be appropriate.
Purchase of homes for Ukrainians

Question19 (22-352)
How many homes have been bought for use by Ukrainian refugees by the Stone
Circle Housing Company?
Response
Stone Circle are acquiring homes as per their approved Business Plan. The Council
are funding some of the acquisitions through an application of the Homes for Ukraine
funding. The council also has nomination rights and therefore has the ability to place
families in those homes. Currently no Ukrainian families have been placed in Stone
Circle homes.

Question 20 (22-353)
Do you have an estimate of how many homes will be bought by Stone Circle for
Ukrainians and by when?
Response
The Council is awaiting the submission of Stone Circle’s business plan for 2023/24,
within that there is an expectation of setting out how many homes will be acquired
through the application and use of the Homes for Ukrainian funding.

Question 21 (22-354)
Will they be used as emergency accommodation, where families pay no rent?
Response
No.

Question 22 (22-355)
Is it intended that the homes bought by Stone Circle for use by Ukrainian households
will be more affordable than those in the private sector?
Response
Yes.

Question 23 (22-356)
Can you indicate the level of rent that Stone Circle will charge as a percentage of the
market level?
Response
The level of rent will be commensurate with the financial parameters that Stone
Circle submit within their business plan. The current business plan assumes rent at
Local Housing Allowance plus 10%.

Question 24 (22-357)
Do you expect homes to be bought by Stone Circle to be spread across Wiltshire or
concentrated in major settlements such as Chippenham, Trowbridge and Salisbury?
If the latter, will their use not lead to children having to change school?
Response
This detail will be contained in the Stone Circle business plan submission but will be
predicated on market forces and availability. The request was to acquire homes
across the County.

Question 25 (22-358)
If, as you suggested in November, £5m of the tariff funding were to be used to
support the purchase of £25m worth of homes, then assuming an average price of
£200,000, 125 homes might be bought, providing accommodation for 125 Ukrainian
households. However, as of November there were more than 300 Ukrainian families
in Wiltshire. Do you agree that the policy of buying homes for Ukrainians can
therefore only benefit a minority of the refugees in the county, and only deliver a
benefit once they have been purchased? If you do not believe this is the case, can
you please explain the reasoning?
Response
Many Ukrainians will be able to secure private rental accommodation without
additional support. We need to provide support to those who are not able to access
this.

Question 26 (22-359)
Doesn’t spending such a large share of the tariff in this way imply an over-optimistic
assumption that most Ukrainians will not need any form of housing support, while a
minority enjoy bespoke social housing?
Response
No

Question 27 (22-360)
Do you agree that using the money provided by central Government to buy property
will over the long-term be likely to benefit more non-Ukrainians than Ukrainians
unless a large number of refugees choose both to remain the UK and seek
citizenship and to remain in rented property?
Response
No.