Ukrainian children made homeless in UK due to 'broken' refugee schemes

Hundreds of Ukrainian children and their families have been made homeless after being granted sanctuary in the UK, new figures reveal.

- MAY BULMAN

Ministers have been accused of presiding over "broken" refugee schemes for Ukrainian nationals after it emerged that 660 households who have come to Britain via these routes have been forced to register as homeless.

The data, published by the Department for Levelling up, Communities and Housing yesterday, reveals that of the homeless households, 480 were families with at least one child, while 180 were single households.

In total, 51,800 people so far have arrived under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, which enables refugees to "match" with people offering rooms, while 25,400 have come under the family scheme, which allows refugees to join relatives in the UK.

The figures show that seven in 10 households (480) that have been made homeless arrived under the family scheme, of which 62 per cent became homeless because the housing was "not available or suitable on arrival", while the remaining 175 left their housing because the arrangement "broke down".

Of the 145 households who registered as homeless after arriving under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, 55 left because the accommodation was not available or suitable, while 90 left because the arrangement broke down.

Only 140 households who have registered as homeless - one in five - have so far been provided with alternative housing, according to the data.

It comes after The Independent revealed that thousands of Ukrainians seeking refuge in the UK had been forced to live in overcrowded accommodation, with whole families sharing single rooms.

In other cases, refugees coming under the Homes for Ukraine scheme have been placed with unvetted hosts and in unsuitable homes because the government has yet to give councils any funding for vital safety checks.