Refugees in Cumbria - Ukraine

The Government announced a scheme on 14 March asking individuals, charities, community groups and businesses across the country to step forward and offer their support to those people displaced from Ukraine, and their immediate family members, who need a route to safety. 

More information on Ukraine and what you can do to help.

Homes for Ukraine

Homes for Ukraine is a government scheme to provide a way for those fleeing the war to come to the UK with accommodation provided by local people (sponsors) offering room in their own homes or properties. 

Full details of the scheme are available on GOV.UK

These webpages provide summary details of the scheme and information about how the county council and other organisations are supporting the implementation of the scheme locally in Cumbria.


Offering accommodation

If you want to offer a home to people fleeing Ukraine, you can become a 'sponsor' as part of the Homes for Ukraine scheme. 

There is an extensive set of regularly updated Frequently Asked Questions about the Homes for Ukraine scheme on GOV.UK 

Anyone in the UK with a spare room or home can record their interest, as long as:

  • you can offer accommodation for at least 6 months
  • if you're not a British citizen, you have leave to remain in the UK for at least 6 months

You can register your interest as an individual or as an organisation.

Record your interest on the government website

The government's Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) will contact you after you have registered your interest. 

DLUHC will also share your details with us. We will contact you to begin process of carrying out the checks required by the Government.

Currently, we cannot confirm when we will contact you. We are working through the sponsors that DLUHC has told us about and making contact as quickly as possible. 


Linking up with a guest

Once you have registered to become a sponsor it is up to you to find a Ukrainian national (guest) who will stay in your accommodation. 

As a sponsor you are responsible for linking up with a guest.

Cumbria County Council and District Councils are not involved in matching people offering accommodation (sponsors) with Ukraine families (guests).

More information about the matching process can be found on GOV.UK. 

If you don't currently know anyone whom you wish to sponsor, you may wish to get in touch with charities, faith groups or local community organisations who are starting to make connections between individuals.

Charities that could help connect you with someone include: 

Important general guidance for sponsors about the Homes for Ukraine scheme and the roles and responsibilities of sponsors can be found on GOV.UK.


Cumbria County Council and District Council responsibilities

The county council has the following roles:

  • carrying out Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks on sponsors;
  • conducting a housing suitability check on the premises offered to Ukrainians; 
  • carrying out safeguarding checks on sponsors against local databases to establish if there are any known concerns about the household; and
  • providing advice and guidance to sponsors and guests. 

A county council resettlement officer will support you through these checks.

More information on these checks is provided below.


Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks

All adults (16+) normally resident within your household will require a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. 

Enhanced DBS checks will be required if you will be offering accommodation to children under the age of 18 or to adults with known vulnerabilities.

The council resettlement team will contact sponsors to arrange these checks.

Supporting identity documents will need to be provided for verification.

More information about the DBS process.


Home checks

Cumbria County Council will conduct a housing suitability check on premises offered to Ukrainians to make sure it is suitable and safe. 

The resettlement team will make an appointment to arrange this directly with the sponsors.


Fire checks

Fire safety checks will be carried out by Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service, this will be arranged directly with you following your household inspection.


Arrangements for Thank You payments to sponsors

Work is ongoing to determine local administration arrangements for the £350 Thank You payment to sponsors. You will be contacted when arrangements are in place. Payments will only be provided once guests have arrived.


Applying for visas

Full details of how to apply for a visa under the Homes for Ukraine scheme can be found on GOV.UK.

Applying for Universal Credit and Child Benefit

Once your guest(s) arrive they will need to claim Universal Credit and Child Benefit, if necessary. They can claim Universal Credit here. Bank Account details should be completed with 0's or X's in place of digits until bank accounts can be set up for the guest.

Child Benefit needs to be claimed by downloading and printing this form. The claim needs to be sent by post to the address provided on the form with 'Homes for Ukraine' written along the top to allow it to be fast tracked.


Applying for Universal Credit and Child Benefit

Once your guest(s) arrive they will need to claim Universal Credit and Child Benefit, if necessary. They can claim Universal Credit here. Bank Account details should be completed with 0's or X's in place of digits until bank accounts can be set up for the guest.

Child Benefit needs to be claimed by downloading and printing this form. The claim needs to be sent by post to the address provided on the form with 'Homes for Ukraine' written along the top to allow it to be fast tracked.


Arranging school places

Children of school age arriving as guests are eligible for a school place. 

Sponsors or guests SHOULD NOT apply for school places until the guests have arrived in Cumbria.

The School Admissions team is ready to find school places quickly once guests are here. The resettlement officer will talk to you about this.


Sponsor/guest relationship breakdowns

It is possible that the relationship between sponsor and guest could break down. Think about how you would handle this before you offer accommodation.

If you have any concerns once you have welcomed your guests, contact Cumbria County Council as soon as possible at HomeforUkraine@cumbria.gov.uk. They can help to direct you to further information and support. 


Other locally available support for guests and sponsors

The council are working with the local voluntary and charitable sector to provide practical advice and guidance for hosts. Work to develop this support offer is ongoing.

Local organisations we are working with include: 

Online and face to face drop-in sessions will be created to provide support for both guests and sponsors. We will contact you to invite you to these once they have been set up.

A number of Facebook pages and groups are up and running in the county aimed at supporting sponsors. These are managed independently, not by Cumbria County Council.

The Cumbria Supports Ukraine Facebook page will help you find clothes, bedding, prams/ baby equipment/ wheelchair/ toiletries/food etc which can be gifted to new and existing arrivals. 

These groups are private and you need to request to join. They provide a place to share information and advice. Despite their names you don't have to live in these areas to join them.

You will need a Facebook account to access these pages and groups.

There are a range of ways you can offer financial and practical support to people affected by the war in Ukraine.

At the moment, it is too early to know the exact needs of those arriving from Ukraine. If you think you could offer practical support to people arriving in the county, please email homesforukraine@cumbria.gov.uk and explain what you could offer.

Things we know already would be helpful are:

  • Translation
  • Ukrainian/Russian speakers already living in Cumbria who can offer informal support to new arrivals

We will hold your details and may contact you if the support is needed in the future.

You may also wish to contact local voluntary organisations to provide assistance:

To offer financial support to people still in Ukraine you can donate to the Disasters Emergency Committee which brings together leading aid charities working in the area.

To support refugees and asylum seekers locally and help them settle into Cumbria consider donating to the Cumbria Community Foundation which operates the Cumbria Welcome Fund. Refugees and asylum seekers from any country can apply to this for support. 

National information about what you can do to help can be found on GOV.UK  


Worried about the safety of guests

If you are worried that guests you are supporting may be at risk of harm, please contact our safeguarding hubs.

Children Safeguarding

Adults Safeguarding

If they are at immediate risk of harm, contact the police on 999.


Other Ukraine visa schemes and unplanned arrivals

The Ukraine Family Scheme allows Ukrainians to join family members already in the UK or extend their stay in the UK.

Details are available on GOV.UK

People arriving on this scheme are able to live, work and study in the UK and access public funds. There are no additional responsibilities for local councils.  

Local support provided by charities and community groups may be available to those who need it.

If you become aware of people arriving in the county outside of these schemes, please contact refugee.support@cumbria.gov.uk for advice.