Analysis

Homes for Ukraine: safeguarding concerns for vulnerable refugees

Government’s ‘hands-off’ approach to safeguarding checks of those participating in the Homes for Ukraine scheme prompts concerns over risk of trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable children and young adults.
Sixteen per cent of councils reported at least one or more sponsors listed to have matched with refugees as posing a safeguarding risk. Picture: aviavlad/Adobe Stock
Sixteen per cent of councils reported at least one or more sponsors listed to have matched with refugees as posing a safeguarding risk. Picture: aviavlad/Adobe Stock

Latest figures from the Department for Education show that almost a quarter of Ukrainian refugees who have arrived in England as part of the government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme are school-aged children living with their families.

Worryingly, an investigation by Children & Young People Now finds that more than one in 10 local authorities were forced to alert the Home Office and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) to safeguarding issues around at least one person listed as a matched sponsor.

To address such concerns, a recent amendment to government guidance on the Homes for Ukraine scheme for local authorities, made in late May, offers greater detail around the need for all adults living in a household hosting a family with children to undergo an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check among other safeguarding measures compared with earlier publications (see below).

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