Sisters we need to talk..
About Bills
The British are not very good at talking about money so excuse our awkwardness while we try to explain…..
As you know sponsors receive £350 a month, for up to 12 months. That’s £350 per house, not per person and as we are sure many of you who have arrived in the UK are finding, £350 is not a large sum here. This is paid in arrears and some sponsors have waited many months to receive anything; some indeed are still waiting.
Now here is where it gets confusing, really confusing!
In England, Northern Ireland and those sponsoring directly in Wales and Scotland this payment is described as a thank you for sponsors; for spending time and energy helping their guests to settle in, navigating the mountain of paperwork and appointments needed to start a new life here in the UK. In reality some sponsors have also spent large amounts preparing for guests arrivals and covering things like flights and in some cases hotel bills.
These sponsors have been told that they can ask for a reasonable contribution towards household bills. Many may not ask for this but for others, the high rate of inflation and rocketing energy costs, means a contribution is needed to cover increased costs during guests stays just to keep the household afloat financially.
But now we come to the Super Sponsor schemes and we find the rules covering this have changed! So now sponsors hosting supersponsor guests have been told NOT to ask for contributions for bills (other than food).
It’s a peculiar situation we know and we can’t make much sense of it either but we thought sponsors and guests alike should know about this difference to avoid disagreements .
For a bit of background for those interested this item gives some information on how costs of household utility bills are increasing in the UK at the moment.
We know for many Ukrainians they don’t receive variable or separate bills for utilities like, electricity, water and so on so the level of cost to UK households may not be fully appreciated. But these bills are problematic for many in the UK at the moment, so this subject needs to be discussed, ideally before guests arrive.
If guests feel the amounts requested are not reasonable then the local council should be able to advise and if necessary speak to sponsors about this.
One last thing to mention is about amounts paid for Universal Credit. For any British people who claim this benefit, this has to cover ALL living expenses except rent or mortgage. So includes things like gas, electricity, water, transport, phone, household insurance and many other things. Now Ukranians are receiving the same amounts as a British claimants would so, in the absence of these typical bills, many Ukranians are actually in possession of more disposable income than some sponsors.
Rising prices in the UK mean that most people are being more careful with spending. As ever, the solution is to talk about these things. It may be an awkward subject to bring up, because like we said at the start us Brits are not good at talking about money but once that discussion is had everyone knows where they stand.
Even if it’s “standing” in 3 extra sweaters!
Just to note: we are happy for the text of these posts to be shared to other groups if you think they are helpful, as long as they are shared accurately
"Sisters we need to talk about..." Is a series of discussion topics hosted by Sunflower Sisters on their private community group on Facebook. The group is open to ladies only and is a support group for both sponsors and guests, you can take part in the debate by joining our private community homepage by clicking the button below.
This topic was originally debated on Facebook on 30/08/2022
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