COTSWOLD MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton Brown has raised issues relating to housing for Ukrainian host families with a government committee. 

Some Cotswold host families who welcomed Ukrainian refugees into their homes say they are still waiting for payments from the council to help with costs - months after their guests arrived.

Sir Geoffrey had a meeting with 30 hosts of Ukrainians in the summer and has now put forward concerns to Permanent Secretary to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Jeremy Pocklington. 

One of the issues at the meeting raised were payments for hosting a Ukrainian family

He said: “There was frustration at the length of time it was taking to pay the £350. 

“It is not a lot of money, compared with what they are actually giving the Ukrainians, but they just felt that if they were doing this out of the goodness of their hearts, they should be paid relatively promptly.”

The Public Accounts Committee meeting held on September 22 was looking at the Affordable Homes Programme since 2015. 

Sir Geoffrey also spoke about the recognition of qualifications in the UK. 

One Ukrainian was a qualified vet in Ukraine but had to become a veterinary assistant since his English wasn’t good enough. 

He said: “There was a qualified vet— DEFRA desperately needs vets —who, because his English wasn’t good enough, had to become a veterinary assistant, which is somewhat frustrating.

"Have you had a look at these professional qualifications to see whether people could be helped into employment?”

Following the questions raised, Mr Pocklington said: “I am very conscious of the position of Ukrainians in high-cost areas of the country. 

“It is part of the wider challenges that we are going to come on to today. 

“In some cases, continuing the sponsorship arrangement may actually be the best outcome, given the housing pressures in the Cotswolds.”

Other issues raised by Sir Geoffrey were: the number of people likely to be made homeless at the end of the 6 months, whether there would be any help to repatriate Ukrainians and the provision of a rental deposit for the private rental sector. 

Commenting, Sir Geoffrey said: “With over 100,000 people entering the UK on the various Ukrainian schemes, not only has the generosity of the British people been fantastic, but the government has put in considerable effort in sorting out the various problems the scheme has revealed.”

Sir Geoffrey will be repeating his meeting with the Ukrainian host families at the beginning of December.