Wiltshire Council is urging more people to step forward and offer housing for Ukrainians in the county as Ukraine celebrates its Independence Day.

To incentivize participation in the Homes for Ukraine scheme, the council is offering a one-time payment of £200 to anyone who refers a new host into the scheme and is successfully matched with a guest.

Since the inception of the Homes for Ukraine scheme, Wiltshire has welcomed 1503 guests.

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However, the need for hosts is still significant as more Ukrainian guests continue to arrive in the county, and other guests need to be rematched with new host families.

While 1,500 households originally registered for the scheme, only 708 households are currently registered.

There are currently 264 families, totalling 526 guests, still in active sponsorship, and an additional 206 families have moved into privately rented accommodation.

Nine families have already moved into one of the 19 properties purchased by Wiltshire Council using the Local Authority Housing Fund, and the council is currently in the process of acquiring five more properties for this purpose.

Councillor Richard Clewer said: “We received many offers of support from Wiltshire residents willing to provide homes for Ukraine people when the Homes for Ukraine scheme first began last year.

“Now that the scheme has been operating for more than a year, the number of available hosts has decreased for a variety of reasons. Therefore, we are at a point where we are once again asking those who might be prepared to provide a safe home to a Ukraine guest, to register their interest. We are particularly in need of hosts in Salisbury, Chippenham, Devizes, Trowbridge, Bradford on Avon, Melksham and Calne. Anyone who refers a successfully matched host into the scheme, that can commit to a minimum of six months will also receive a £200 payment as a thank you from us.”

Clewer also mentioned that any landlords interested in renting out property to Ukrainian households can contact the council via email for further discussion.

The government provides a payment of £350 per month for up to 12 months to hosts offering accommodation, and this payment increases to £500 after the guest has been in the UK for 12 months, up to a maximum of two years.