COUNCILS in North West Hampshire will receive more than £580,000 to help Ukrainian guests move into their own homes and reduce the risk of homelessness.

The Government is giving Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council £311,385 and Test Valley £273,718.

The money is part of a £150m UK-wide funding pot — which can be used by councils to help Ukrainian families into the private rental sector, help them get jobs and continue sponsorships for their second year in the UK. 

More than 120,000 Ukrainians have now arrived in the UK since the start of the war.

Some 455 guests have been supported by 325 hosts in Test Valley while 189 families have been supported in Basingstoke and Deane.

Kit Malthouse, MP for North West Hampshire, said: “It’s been well over a year since we began our Homes for Ukraine Scheme, offering shelter to our friends and neighbours as they fled the horrors of Putin’s war. And thanks to the incredible generosity of people here in North West Hampshire and across the country, we have welcomed tens of thousands of people into our homes.

“Sadly, the fighting in Ukraine shows no signs of ending soon, and it is right that our local authorities get additional funding so they can support guests into long-term housing and employment as they attempt to rebuild their lives.”