Councils are seeing a “concerning increase” in Ukrainian refugees arriving in the UK and becoming homeless due to relationship breakdowns with their sponsors and problems gaining access to accommodation.
Ukrainian families who arrived under the family visa programme are struggling to gain access to cash while they wait for benefits and some are being put in hotels because their relative is unable or unwilling to house them.
And dozens of matches under the separate Homes for Ukraine scheme are understood to have broken down, with local authorities having to put families in emergency accommodation while they wait to find a new sponsor.
Councils are calling for a way to get refugees whose matches have broken down back in the database so that they can be matched quickly with new sponsors.
They are also exploring with the UK government the possibility of matching people who cannot stay with their family sponsor with sponsors registered under the Homes for Ukraine programme.
The chairman of the Local Government Association (LGA), councillor James Jamieson, said councils need to be told in advance who is arriving under the family programme and given funding so they can support them.
“Clarity also remains needed on safeguarding and housing checks under the Homes for Ukraine scheme and councils need clearer guidance on the next steps if the accommodation and safeguarding checks find a match that is not suitable and when sponsor arrangements break down or simply end,” he said.
He added that the situation was especially urgent as “lone children are arriving in the UK needing support".
“New arrivals should be able to be rematched with a different sponsor if a sponsorship breaks down to ensure families can swiftly move to other accommodation so they can rebuild their lives in their new communities.”
In a survey published last week, the LGA said 57 councils had been approached by a total of 144 Ukrainian households that have become homeless after arriving.
The British Red Cross said it has had to refer people to homelessness charities, local authorities and housing associations due to problems getting funds or accommodation.
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Women, wrapped in a Ukrainian flag, embrace during a flash mob protesting sexual abuse by Russian soldiers in Ukraine, at Washington Square Park in New York. AFP -
The train station, seen from a train car, after a rocket attack in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. A rocket attack on the station in the eastern Ukrainian city killed 52 people as civilians raced to flee the Donbas region bracing for a feared Russian offensive. AFP -
Antonina Kaletnyk waits for the body of her son in front of a collapsed building in the town of Borodianka, north-west of Kyiv. AFP -
A vehicle drives past a hole on a damaged bridge, on the outskirts of Kyiv. AFP -
A segment of a large rocket with the words "for our children" in Russian is pictured next to the main building of the train station in Kramatorsk. EPA -
Antonina Kaletnyk waits for the body of her son in front of a collapsed building in the town of Borodianka, northwest of Kyiv. AFP -
A woman waves goodbye to her husband as she leaves on a bus, a day after the rocket attack at a train station in Kramatorsk. AFP -
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and EU foreign affairs envoy Josep Borrell during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine. EPA -
European Commission President Ursula and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attend a news conference in Kyiv. Reuters -
Ms von der Leyen shakes hands with President Zelenskyy as Mr Borrell looks on during their meeting in Kyiv. EPA -
Ms von der Leyen and Mr Borrell before their meeting with President Zelenskyy in Kyiv. EPA -
Ms von der Leyen, Mr Borrell and Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal visit the town of Bucha, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine. Reuters -
Smoke rises after Russian shelling at the railway station in Kramatorsk, in the Donbas region of Ukraine. AP -
Burnt vehicles are seen in the aftermath of a rocket attack on the railway station in Kramatorsk. AFP -
Policemen at the scene in Kramatorsk. AFP -
The remnants of a rocket after the deadly strike in Kramatorsk. AFP -
Survivors of the attack sit on a bench outside the station. AFP -
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen departs for Kyiv in Przemysl, Poland. Reuters -
A man wheels his bicycle past a destroyed tank in Chernihiv. AP -
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Barcelona Mayoress Ada Colau visit the refugee centre set up at Fira de Barcelona for the care, temporary reception and referral of Ukrainian citizens fleeing the war. EPA -
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin follows the address of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy via video link at the Finnish Parliament in Helsinki. AFP -
A young refugee from Ukraine and a dog wait in the ticket hall of the railwlay station in Przemysl, eastern Poland, which has become a hub for refugees from Ukraine fleeing their country due to Russia's aggression. AFP -
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanks MPs after his virtual address to the Greek Parliament in Athens. AFP -
Firefighters take a rest after working at the site of buildings that were destroyed by shelling, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine in Borodyanka, in the Kyiv region, Ukraine. Reuters -
Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, poses for a picture during an interview with The Associated Press during an interview in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP -
Ukrainian soldiers Anastasia and Vyacheslav embrace prior to their wedding ceremony in a city park in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP -
Yurii, 41, who serves in the Ukrainian military, grabs a wedding photograph from his apartment in Hostomel, Ukraine. Getty Images -
A damaged car is seen next to a heavily damaged apartment building in Hostomel, Ukraine. Getty Images -
Burnt cars are seen next to a field in Hostomel, Ukraine. Getty Images -
Svitlana, 62, shows a heavily damaged house in the residential area, in Hostomel, Ukraine. Getty Images -
Ukrainians, who fled to Mexico amid the Russian invasion of their homeland, enjoy the performance of a mariachi band at the Benito Juarez sports complex, set up as a shelter by the local government, after arriving in Tijuana to enter the U. S. , in Tijuana, Mexico. Reuters -
A Bushmaster protected mobility vehicle bound for Ukraine waits to be loaded onto a C-17A Globemaster III aircraft at RAAF Base Amberley, Australia. AP -
Residents and volunteers cross the destroyed bridge to the city with supplies in Irpin, Ukraine. Getty Images -
A Ukrainian serviceman attends a training session in Kharkiv outskirts, Ukraine. AP -
A Ukrainian serviceman walks on a destroyed Russian fighting vehicle in Bucha, Ukraine. AP -
Screens show results from voting by the UN General Assembly in New York as member countries pass a resolution to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. EPA -
The shell of a theatre destroyed in the southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. Reuters -
A woman lights candles during a demonstration to support Ukraine in downtown Sofia. AFP -
Territorial Defence fighters are trained near Kharkiv. EPA -
Rescuers work among remains of residential building destroyed by Russian shelling in Borodyanka, Kyiv region. Reuters -
Smoke rises over the town of Rubizhne, in the Donbas region. AFP -
Ukrainian soldiers sit on an armoured military vehicle in the city of Severodonetsk, Donbass region. AFP -
Painted pictures showing Ukrainian cities hang on a wall at "Cafe Ukraine" in Berlin, Germany. Getty -
A Ukrainian refugee's dog arrives on a train from Odesa at Przemysl Glowny train station in Poland. Reuters
In some cases, it has had to fund short-term accommodation itself as an emergency measure.
Its support line has been contacted by people who are struggling to gain access to funds while they wait for universal credit payments.
The charity says more must be done to tackle these “basic problems”.
In one case, a mother and her five children were put up in a hotel by a council after arriving under the family visa programme.
They are struggling to set up a bank account without proof of address and without a bank account, they cannot complete an application for universal credit.
The family were advised to go to their local Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) office in person, but this is several kilometres away and would take nearly an hour to reach by foot, as they do not have money for public transport.
Alex Fraser, British Red Cross director of refugee support and restoring family links, said: “We’re increasingly concerned about the access to information about support people are receiving when they arrive.
“We’re seeing an increasing number of calls to our support line from Ukrainians struggling to get cash and housing and British families desperate to help but being prevented by the system.”
Officials are said to be urgently looking into cases of homelessness that have been flagged and working with local leaders and other government departments to better understand the costs councils will incur to support arrivals.
