Less than 10 per cent of sponsor arrangements under the Homes for Ukraine scheme have come to an end in Hampshire, new figures show. 

Under regulations set out when the visa scheme was first launched, hosts were asked to offer their guests a home for a minimum of six months. 

For some refugees who arrived in the county shortly after the war began in March, their agreements are now coming to an end, raising concerns that many families would be left looking for a more permanent arrangement in the coming months.

Local authorities have been preparing for such eventualities.

In Winchester, an initial £740,000 support package was allocated in June as part of the government scheme, which will be used to provide a specialised support team to help guests secure longer-term housing, prevent homelessness and work to smoothly integrate them into the community.

Hosts can choose to renew their agreements, while a recent Government survey also asked whether people might be interested in turning their existing deal into a formal tenancy.

But according to ONS figures, more than 25 per cent of Homes for Ukraine sponsors nationally said they want to stop after the initial six months.

However, the county council has since confirmed that just a small proportion of such arrangements have come to an end in Hampshire, and in some of those cases Ukrainian's have decided to seek their own private accommodation.

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A spokesperson said: “Hampshire is currently hosting over 1,000 families as part of the Government's Homes for Ukraine Scheme. To date, less than 100 sponsor arrangements have come to an end, for a variety of reasons. This includes where families have decided to seek their own independent accommodation to further assist with their integration into Hampshire life.” 

As of August 15, 252 hosts in Winchester had completed the process of matching with Ukrainian families, welcoming a total of 536 individuals across the district.

As per a recent Finance and Performance report, the city council has supported 3 rematches. Some 71 Ukrainians have been provided with housing advice, 12 have approached the council because they believed to be threatened with homelessness and 23 have been supported to apply onto Hampshire Home Choice.

Councillor John Tippett-Cooper said: "All the hosts families in Winchester deserve massive credit for all they have done to support Ukrainian refugees in the last few months. In Winchester, a lot of families are looking to renew the hosting relationship.

"We have some cases where the city council have been asked to support Ukrainian families into alternative housing options, but that is likely to be the case in most areas. Those alternative housing options include private rented accommodation or indeed rematching with new hosts. 

"Something the city council has done really well and taken the lead on across the county is facilitating a rematching scheme where current hosts are unable to continue supporting their guest family.

"We have also just employed three new members of staff to aid our efforts in supporting refugees in the community, including delivering our support hubs that have been very well attended. These new staff include housing officers and, crucially, a community liaison officer whose first language is Ukrainian.

"I think the more people come forward to host now the better. There is still a need to host Ukrainians as the war is very much still ongoing."