Money, Benefits and Financial Support

As part of the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (Homes for Ukraine), guests who have arrived in Lincolnshire are entitled to apply for a one-off payment to assist during the time it takes to either access employment and/or have a claim for universal credit processed. The payment is £200 per person in the group (including children).

We understand that not all guests will have access to suitable banking arrangements, councils have therefore established a process with a charity called Charis who will issue an electronic voucher that can be taken to various outlets and exchanged for cash.

If you have not yet applied for this one off payment, please email homesforukraine@lincolnshire.gov.uk to confirm you have arrived with your sponsor and you will be provided with further guidance about how to apply.

People arriving in the UK from Ukraine because of the Russian invasion can apply for financial help immediately and get extra help to find work. To find out more about the full range of benefits you could be eligible for, visit Understanding Universal Credit: Support for those fleeing the conflict in Ukraine.

It is worth noting that although the word ‘credit’ translates to ‘loan’ in Ukrainian, general Universal Credit is not repayable (although advances etc. are).

Claimants will be allocated to a work coach, who will be able to assist with the following:

• pathway to eligibility for applicable benefits
• access to bank accounts
• applications for National Insurance Numbers (NINOs)
• preparation for being work ready and access to employment opportunities
• access to training
• guidance on converting qualifications
• CV guidance

Housing costs element of Universal Credit

The Turn2us website provides a useful overview of the housing costs element of Universal Credit.

For further impartial advice, Citizens Advice offer a national ‘Help to Claim’ service which is accessible via the Citizens Advice website or by calling 0800 144 8444 (calls are free and lines open 8am-6pm, Monday to Friday). Support with translation services where needed to access the service is also available.

The Christians Against Poverty (CAP) website contains a wealth of money management advice, including help with budgeting and some key terms explained.

CAP also offers free money management courses, including some held in Lincoln, which aim to help people take control of their finances to budget, save and help prevent debt.

FLIC is a charity with a mission to improve financial literacy worldwide. In response to the war in Ukraine, they’ve created guides for Ukrainian refugees that will help them navigate a challenging new world of personal finance, wherever they make their new homes. This guide includes tips on how to manage their finances and important information on benefits and employment rules.

The guide is published in collaboration with the Financial Times and can be downloaded in both Ukrainian and English.

The currency in the UK is the Pound Sterling (£). £1 (one pound) = 100p (100 pennies, or pence). Cash is accepted in most places, but increasingly people use debit or credit cards to pay for goods and services.

You will require a UK bank account in order to be paid for employment, receive benefits, make bill payments for utilities (such as phone bill) or pay rent.  Setting up a bank account should be made a priority upon arrival in the UK.

To open a bank account you will need to complete an application form either in the bank in person or online. They will ask for several documents as proof of identity including full name, date of birth and address. This is usually by means of a passport, driving licence or utility bill. Different forms of identification will be accepted if the previous are not owned, but this may differ depending upon the bank.

Banking guide for refugees (Refugee Council website)

All households are responsible for their own individual costs of running their own home for example utilities such as gas, electric and water, and Council Tax. There are two living arrangements applicable to this Homes for Ukraine scheme:

Guest arrival and accessing the ‘thank you’ payment

All hosts have the option to receive a monthly 'thank you' payment, paid in arrears, for as long as you are hosting your guests and that the accommodation provided is of a suitable standard. You will be eligible for the first monthly payment once the local council has visited to check the standard of the accommodation, your guests have arrived and a safe and well visit to meet your guests has been undertaken by Lincolnshire County Council's Migration Team. There can only be one payment per residential address.

To access this, please promptly email us on homesforukraine@lincolnshire.gov.uk to notify us that your guest(s) have arrived. We will then email you with information about how to apply for the 'thank you' payment. We will also email you and your guest(s) about how your guest(s) can claim an interim payment of £200 per guest for subsistence costs.

If you have already applied for sponsor and/or guest(s) payment

The completed online application for thank you payments goes through to Lincolnshire County Council's Migration Team. Please email the team on homesforukraine@lincolnshire.gov.uk if you have any questions or would like to update us on any changes in circumstance that might affect your application for thank you payments.

DWP support for Ukrainians arriving in the UK provides an overview of support and services available to Ukrainians arriving in the UK, including how to get a National Insurance number, applying for benefits and Jobcentre Plus services.

The Job Centre has also put together a ‘myth buster’ detailing Jobcentre support for Ukrainian guests.

This is available for newly arrived guests who have applied for and are waiting to receive Universal Credit and Pension Credit. The local Red Cross team is happy to provide financial support of £30 per person per week until Universal Credit comes through.

Eligibility:

• £30/week per person for maximum 12 weeks (please note, this is not an ‘entitlement’ and the amount is subject to change).
• Single people – requests for maximum 4 weeks at a time
• Families – requests for maximum 2 weeks at a time, except in special circumstances (e.g. holiday periods)

Please contact the Red Cross office to schedule an appointment to speak with a member of their casework team.

Call: 01164 790900 (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 10:00am-3:00pm)
Email: RSLeicester@redcross.org.uk

Guests that claim certain benefits or tax credits, may be eligible for an extra payment to help with the cost of living. If you’re eligible, payments will be made automatically.

As part of the Homes for Ukraine scheme, hosts receive a monthly 'thank you' payment. This money is intended to be exactly that, a thank you payment to the host for giving up a space in their home and supporting their guests to settle into life in Lincolnshire. This money is not intended to cover the increases in food, electricity, gas or water bills that come as a result of having additional people in the house.

As a reminder, hosts can ask guests to pay a contribution (according to use) for water, gas and electricity consumed or supplied to the accommodation or to any shared facilities. The Homes for Ukraine government guidance explains that hosts can ask for a contribution to household bills, stating:

"You may ask guests to pay a reasonable and proportionate contribution (according to use) for water, gas and electricity consumed or supplied to the accommodation or to any shared facilities.”

You could consider sitting down together to discuss household contributions and reflect how you can jointly work out a suitable amount based on your arrangement (particularly for guests that are in employment or receiving Universal Credit).