London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Jun 01, 2025

Ukraine refugees staying with UK hosts not cleared by criminal record checks

Ukraine refugees staying with UK hosts not cleared by criminal record checks

Concerns grow for safety of those heading to Britain as government scrambles to fix flaws in housing scheme• Russia-Ukraine war: latest developments

Ukrainians fleeing the war are being housed with UK hosts who have not had a criminal record check, in the latest concern to blight the government’s response to the refugee crisis.

Under increasing pressure to iron out flaws in its schemes, government sources told the Observer they were creating a “rematching” service to house Ukrainians with people willing to help.

Tens of thousands of people who have registered an interest with the UK’s Homes for Ukraine scheme will be contacted to say the government is working with councils and charities to match them with Ukrainians who have arrived in the UK but find themselves homeless after their initial place fell through or family members could not host them.

So far, more than 102,000 visas have been issued under the two government refugee schemes for Ukrainians, and 46,100 have arrived in the UK. Teething problems continue to beset the initiatives. In many cases, people have been housed for weeks by hosts who still are waiting for their Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks.

Karen Liebreich, from west London, collected her 21-year-old Ukrainian refugee from the airport five weeks ago but said she was still waiting for the results of the checks.

She said: “My husband and I have now filled in our forms for the DBS checks, but she has been here for five weeks and we still haven’t been approved.”

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities – which is responsible for the scheme – contacted her last week to ask if it could use her as a case study, but Liebreich refused.

In an email to the department, she said: “[Your] department was all over the press assuring us that everyone housing a Ukrainian has had a completed DBS check. As this is a categoric lie ... I’m not prepared to facilitate an interview to bolster a government message for ministers that seem not to understand the value of the truth.”

Ukrainian refugees at the Isaccea border crossing last month.


A DBS check allows employers and other organisations to look at the criminal record of someone applying for a role, if they have one.

On Thursday another host of a Ukrainian mother and son in Essex also said they had arrived but that she “hadn’t been checked” and had asked the council for an explanation.

Another host from Essex wrote on Facebook: “Our guests, including young child, arrived on 14 April and we were only sent the links for the enhanced DBS check last Friday [6 May].”

Essex county council said the delays had arisen due to the “volume” of cases but that it was “prioritising those who already have guests with them”, and last week started face-to-face DBS checks at two offices to “speed things up further”.

In response to such issues and concerns over homelessness, a parliamentary committee will this week urge the government to sort out its “completely dysfunctional” schemes.

Clive Betts, chair of the levelling-up committee, said he had written to refugees minister Richard Harrington, about fears for the safety of Ukrainians and their potential to end up homeless.

Maggie Filipova-Rivers, of the City of Sanctuary network of 120 local councils, said the delay between Ukrainians being housed and DBS checks conducted on their host was worrying. She highlighted one recent case where a family in Worcester were at risk of becoming homeless after problems arose with their host.

“Someone was hosting a family living on a mattress in the kitchen and asking them for money; it was a potential exploitation case,” said Filipova-Rivers.

Worcester city council said that although no safety issues had been identified in this case, it had found the property to be “unsuitable”. But the host had ignored this and gone ahead with the placement.

Then the council had become aware of “problems in the relationship between sponsor and their guests” – the Ukrainian family had appealed for help on Facebook, which led to a support group providing alternative accommodation in Derby and then Sheffield.

Misha Lagodinsky, who runs a matching scheme called UK Welcomes Ukraine, which has 100 Ukrainian- and Russian-speaking volunteers connecting people, said: “Some people are finding that they are homeless straight away because they have a visa granted and then their host fails DBS checks.”

Charlie Richards, a volunteer with another scheme, said that he had heard of Ukrainian families sleeping on benches after becoming homeless.

Concerns have been building over the failure of the government to release the data it holds on the number of Ukrainians presenting themselves to councils as homeless. A source said it was due to unveil the data shortly, and that numbers relating to the Homes for Ukraine scheme were “very small so far”.

They added that the intention was never to carry out DBS checks on all hosts before Ukrainians arrived because the priority was getting people “out of danger” first.

A government spokesperson said: “The Homes for Ukraine scheme has stringent safeguarding measures in place, and the Home Office conducts security and background checks on all sponsors before visas are issued. Councils also conduct checks and must make at least one in-person visit to a sponsor’s property.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
U.S. Goods Imports Plunge Nearly 20% Amid Tariff Disruptions
OpenAI Faces Competition from Cheaper AI Rivals
Foreign Tax Provision in U.S. Budget Bill Alarms Investors
Trump Accuses China of Violating Trade Agreement
Gerry Adams Wins Libel Case Against BBC
Russia Accuses Serbia of Supplying Arms to Ukraine
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
Chinese Woman Dies After Being Forced to Visit Bank Despite Critical Illness
President Trump Grants Full Pardons to Reality TV Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley
Texas Enacts App Store Accountability Act Mandating Age Verification
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Vatican Calls for Sustainable Tourism in 2025 Message
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Trump Threatens 25% Tariff on iPhones Amid Dispute with Apple CEO
Putin's Helicopter Reportedly Targeted by Ukrainian Drones
Liverpool Car Ramming Incident Leaves Multiple Injured
Australia Faces Immigration Debate Following Labor Party Victory
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
Macron Dismisses Viral Video of Wife's Gesture as Playful Banter
Cleveland Clinic Study Questions Effectiveness of Recent Flu Vaccine
Netanyahu Accuses Starmer of Siding with Hamas
Junior Doctors Threaten Strike Over 4% Pay Offer
×