More than 70 British politicians have signed an open letter calling on the UK government to support Ukrainian refugees and prevent them from falling into homelessness.
It comes after new data revealed 4,000 Ukrainian households received homelessness support in the past year.
The letter from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Ending Homelessness warns that Ukrainians coming to the UK to escape the continuing conflict will fall into homelessness unless changes are made to existing support schemes.
The group is calling on the government to harmonise funding across visa schemes for arriving refugees.
“It is unacceptable that thousands of people who arrived in the UK to escape the conflict are now facing homelessness,” the group's joint chairs Bob Blackman and Florence Eshalomi said.
“While the announcement of continued funding under the existing schemes for both sponsors and refugees is welcome, more must be done to prevent increasing numbers of Ukrainian refugees from being forced into homelessness.”
Since June last year, the number of Ukrainian households receiving homelessness assistance in the UK has increased more than six times.
The group wishes to see improved funding available to hosts and sponsors to ensure that no Ukrainian seeking refuge in the UK is left facing homelessness.
The government had introduced three new visa-based schemes to support those seeking safety in the UK but the group fears the design and implementation of funding available has left some refugees outside of the scope of support
Currently, Ukrainians under the Family Scheme receive no financial support from the UK government, forcing them and their family members to rely on their own resources instead to get by.
The funding available for hosts under the Homes for Ukraine scheme also lacks flexibility, with lodging arrangements excluded from the scheme, and payments fixed regardless of the size of the family sponsored, the group says.
It fears that, without changes to the support offered and consistency between visa schemes, more refugees could end up facing homelessness this year as living arrangements break down.
In addition, the cost-of-living crisis and the lack of affordable housing has severely restricted people’s ability to move on from sponsorship and into their own homes, with recent research finding that one in ten Ukrainian refugees have been threatened with eviction since arriving in the UK.
“As we approach a year since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it is unacceptable that thousands of people who arrived in the UK to escape the conflict are now facing homelessness,” Mr Blackman and Ms Eshalomi said.
“While the announcement of continued funding under the existing schemes for both sponsors and refugees is welcome, more must be done to prevent increasing numbers of Ukrainian refugees from being forced into homelessness.
“Unfortunately, many of the challenges facing refugees in securing safe housing are not unique to this community but rather indicative of the wider crisis across the country, as more and more people are forced into unstable living situations due to rising costs.
“We are calling upon the UK government to continue supporting Ukrainian refugees in the UK through the introduction of extended and harmonised financial support, as well as the appointment of a new Minister of State for Refugees, to ensure no one fleeing the war in Ukraine and seeking sanctuary in the UK is left facing homelessness.”
Thousands of Ukrainians, mostly women and children, are staying with families and individuals who are entitled to a monthly £350 “thank you” payment.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
Company Profile
Company name: NutriCal
Started: 2019
Founder: Soniya Ashar
Based: Dubai
Industry: Food Technology
Initial investment: Self-funded undisclosed amount
Future plan: Looking to raise fresh capital and expand in Saudi Arabia
Total Clients: Over 50
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
