NORTH Yorkshire Council has been awarded £830,715 by the government to support Ukrainian refugees living in the county move into their own homes.

Ukrainian families fleeing war have found places to live through the government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme with UK sponsors agreeing to house refugees for a minimum of six months.

However, there have been concerns that if it doesn’t work out between refugees and host families some may fall into homelessness, so the government is offering all local authorities money through its Homelessness Prevention Grant (HPG).

The council’s Conservative executive member for culture, arts and housing Cllr Myers said: “We welcome the additional funding which recognises the commitment of sponsors and the work we have already been doing during difficult economic times and will provide additional support and reassurance to Ukrainian families as they rebuild their lives and seek to overcome the trauma of war.”

According to NYC, there have been 1,336 arrivals to North Yorkshire since the start of the Homes for Ukraine scheme - 616 still live with a sponsor while others have moved to their own accommodation, to another area or back to Ukraine..

Nationally, more than 117,000 Ukrainians have moved to the UK through the resettlement scheme.