“As a network of frontline hosting, housing and support organisations across the UK, a year on from the launch of Homes for Ukraine we recognise the important role that it continues to play in providing a vital route to safety for the people of Ukraine.   

It’s been incredible to see the British public embrace hosting and open their homes and communities to Ukrainian refugees in such overwhelming numbers. We know from the work of our members, who support hundreds of hosting placements each year for people from many parts of the world, that hosting provides an essential accommodation and support pathway for refugees fleeing war, conflict and persecution who have nowhere else to live. 

Homes for Ukraine is also a timely reminder that the public are ready and willing to extend the hand of welcome to refugees, and that community-based accommodation provision can play an effective and powerful role in helping people integrate and rebuild their lives after the trauma of displacement.  

It’s important to recognise though that hosting is a unique, distinct and temporary type of accommodation provision that works best within a structured, holistic refugee protection and resettlement pathway, supported by expert hosting organisations. This itself must be underpinned by a fair and just asylum system, that is open to all who need to seek refuge. 

Let’s also be clear that Homes for Ukraine is the reason we don’t see people from Ukraine arriving across the Channel in small boats. It shows that Government-backed routes to safety play a vital role in helping people escaping conflict around the world resettle in the UK safely, without having to rely on irregular or dangerous travel. 

We look forward to working with NACCOM members and partners in the coming months to consolidate and reflect on the valuable learning from Homes for Ukraine, particularly around the impact and legacy of the scheme for hosting more widely. We’ll also continue to share good practice so that we can all make hosting the best pathway to safety that it can be for everyone who needs it.”