Councillors have raised concerns that the government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme provides insufficient payment to host households.
Britons who offer their homes to Ukrainians will get tax-free payments of £350 a month in a scheme launched by Michael Gove, the Communities Secretary, on 14 March.
Since its launch, more than 150,000 people have expressed an interest in supporting families through the scheme.
Valerie Bossman-Quarshie, a councillor for Bunhill ward in Islington, said: “I’m disappointed with the money, given as no working-class family would manage looking after a migrant on that [formula].
“As inflation goes up many have lost their livelihoods during the lockdown and pandemic. It has exacerbated the inequality gap which has widened for many households.
“How much is a travel card for the week? A meal three times a day?”
Councillors have also criticised the fact that refugees who fled warzones outside of Europe are not given the same level of support.
Phil Graham, a councillor and chair of Islington’s Licensing Committee, said on 14 March: “Everyone is falling over themselves, rightly so, to help these people who are fleeing war.
?“It would have been nice to see them [the government] helping people who are fleeing other wars and conflicts around the world instead of allowing them to drown in the Channel and making life difficult for them.
“We haven’t got a migrant crisis – we’ve got a racism crisis.”
His comments come before the return of the contentious Nationality and Borders Bill to the House of Commons on 22 March. MPs will vote on amendments made by the Lords, which include the removal of a provision to see asylum seekers who entered the UK illegally sent to overseas processing centres.
On 14 March in parliament, shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy called the Homes for Ukraine initiative a “DIY asylum scheme” and asked whether ministers expect refugees to “get onto Instagram and advertise themselves”.
