The Role of the State in Community-Led Welcome: Lessons from Homes for Ukraine

Abstract

Community-led routes to welcome refugees and migrants, such as community sponsorship, are often viewed as the devolution of the state’s resettlement and integration responsibilities to non-governmental actors. Yet, there remains a significant role for the state. This paper outlines the role of central, regional, and local government in community-led welcome by drawing from learning from Homes for Ukraine in the UK and the engagement of UK local authorities in the scheme using theories of the multi-level governance of migration. Launched in March 2022 in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Homes for Ukraine allows sponsors to ‘name’ Ukrainians to host in their homes for a minimum of 6 months. While the public and community support for the scheme was unprecedented, our analysis shows the state plays a key role in the scheme. The central government retains overall control of the scheme’s governance by regulating immigration status and the funding parameters for support. Local authorities have specifically defined responsibilities, including checking sponsors’ suitability, wider integration responsibilities, and acting as a ‘backstop’ in case of placement breakdown or beyond the lifetime of the support programme. Ultimately, we suggest that whilst community-led welcome widens the scope of actors involved in resettling and integrating newcomers, it cannot be viewed solely as a community alternative to government-led refugee resettlement and integration. Instead, we propose a conceptualisation of community-led welcome as an approach to resettlement and integration which requires effective multi-level governance for it to offer a durable solution to refugees and newcomers.