Latest figures reveal money used to support Ukrainian appeal in Rotherham

A HUMANITARIAN initiative which supports Ukrainian refugees fleeing war has released its latest figures revealing how much money was provided to local authorities up and down the country — and how many people fleeing the war came to Rotherham.

The Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities provided money to all local authorities in England to support Ukrainian refugees between September and November 2022 under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

The project was initially launched in March 2022, shortly after Vladimir Putin’s Russia invaded the Eastern-European country, with communities across England coming together on an unprecedented scale to collect donations, send aid and offer up their homes to those fleeing their homes to make a new life in the UK.

To subsidise residents, the government offered monthly payments of £350 per month to sponsors who agreed to take in Ukrainian refugees for at least six months.

Between September and November, 133 payments were made to residents in Rotherham for sponsoring Ukrainians.

This was at a cost of £46,550 from the government’s “thank you payments allocation”.

The government also provided an extra allocation of £241,500 to support Rotherham Council in providing wraparound support to individuals and families to rebuild their lives and fully integrate into communities, which came to a total of £288,050, figures showed.

Across all local authorities in England, the government provided a total of £167.5 million.