It’s been confirmed this morning that over 89,000 people in the UK have signed-up to open their homes to refugees fleeing war in Ukraine.
The website for the dedicated Homes for Ukraine scheme was officially launched yesterday afternoon, and has reportedly crashed on several occasions as an impressive 1,500 people registered to offer support within just the first hour of it going live, according to Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary Michael Gove.
In an address to the House of Commons this morning, Mr Gove said that the UK had a history of “supporting the most vulnerable during their darkest hours”.
He expressed his hope that many Brits would “open their homes” and accept Ukrainian refugees, adding that this act would help those fleeing persecution to find “peace, healing and the prospect of a brighter future.
Mr Gove said the new scheme would be based on “the enormous goodwill and generosity of the British public”, and said there’d be “no limit” to how many Ukrainians could enter the UK under the scheme.
“This is a huge humanitarian crisis, and we are urging the British public to come forward and help where they can,” Mr Gove said.
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As part of the visa sponsorship scheme, any Ukrainian national or immediate family member of a Ukrainian national, if they were resident in Ukraine prior to 1 January this year, is eligible to enter the country, and they do not need to have existing family ties to the UK.
📣NEW – UK individuals, charities, community groups & businesses can now record their interest in supporting Ukrainians fleeing the war through our new Homes for Ukraine scheme.
— Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Gov (@mhclg) March 14, 2022
How does the scheme work?
The scheme offers a route to those who want to come to the UK and have someone here willing to provide them with a home, and will enable individuals, charities, community groups, and businesses to volunteer accommodation and provide a route to safety for Ukrainians, and their immediate family members who have been forced to escape their homeland.
Sponsors should provide accommodation for as long as they are able, but the government has a minimum expectation of six months.
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Under the first phase of the scheme, offers must be made to a specific person or people, and charities and other organisations might be able to help those offering accommodation to make contact with a named person.
It’s been confirmed that checks will be undertaken on individuals offering to host refugees, but Mr Gove said full DBS checks would not be needed.
Local councils may also check that the accommodation being offered is appropriate.
Is there any financial support?
As confirmed last week ahead of the launch of the scheme yesterday, those who make an offer of accommodation to refugees will be entitled to an optional “thank you” tax-free payment of £350 per month, and this will not affect benefit entitlement or council tax status, such as single occupancy discount.
Those offering to house refugees will not be expected to cover the costs of meals, food and living expenses for Ukrainians, but they can do if they wish to do so.
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Local councils will also be offered extra funding to give wider support.
Refugees from Ukraine under the scheme will be able to apply for benefits, take up employment, and will be granted leave to remain in the UK for three years so they have the access public services, such as the NHS and schooling.
89,000 people in the UK have signed-up to open their homes to refugees fleeing war in Ukraine / Credit: DEC (via Twitter)
How do I sign up?
You can sign up to offer accommodation to refugees fleeing Ukraine on the Homes for Ukraine website here.
If you have a named person who you wish to sponsor, then you should get in contact with them directly and prepare to fill in a visa application – which will go live on Friday 18 March – with all their details and yours, but if you don’t know anyone and still want to offer accommodation, the government suggests getting in touch with charities, faith groups, or local community organisations who are starting to make connections between individuals.
You can record your interest as an individual or as an organisation, and the government says all those who register will be “kept updated” once they sign-up.
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Additionally, the British public are also being urged to make donations to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), which has been set up in response to the crisis in Ukraine, with every pound donated by the British public set to be matched by the government up to the value of £20 million.
The DEC has stressed that monetary donations are needed as opposed to specific items, which are often challenging to transport and not always relevant.
You can find more information and donate via the DEC here.
How and where to recycle or donate your Christmas tree in Manchester | 2026
Emily Sergeant
The new year is here, and the ’12 days of Christmas’ are up… which means it’s time for a fresh start.
Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve both feel like things of the past now, and for most of us, this is our first proper week back at work too, which means (if you haven’t already) it’s time to tackle the task of taking down and putting away all the festive decorations – even if it is one of the dullest times of the year and it signals that the magic of Christmas is over.
For those of us that opt for a real Christmas tree though, the end of the year always brings one question – now what do we do with it?
Manchester City Council has aimed to answer that very question by providing residents with a handful of different ways to recycle their Christmas trees to make sure they’re put to good use and don’t go to waste or get dumped.
Here’s the different options.
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Recycle it in your food and garden waste bin
You can recycle your Christmas tree by cutting it up and placing it in your food and garden waste bin, but you’ll need to make sure you take the following steps before doing so.
Remove all decorations and fairy lights
Take off the base or wooden block if your tree has one
Make sure the trunk is not thicker than your wrist. Wood thicker than your wrist is too big and can’t be put in the garden and food bin. Large trunks and wooden bases can be taken to a recycling centre.
Donate it to charity
Did you know you can donate your Christmas trees to charity? That’s right – for residents living in Manchester, all you’ll need to do is register your tree with national charity JustHelping, along with a donation towards the collection, and you can help a local hospice or charitable cause in the city-region.
The money raised will go to good causes in the area, including Moya Cole Hospice (previously St Anne’s Hospice), Francis House, and We Love Manchester.
You can find more information and register your tree here.
It’s time to take down and recycle our Christmas trees for another year / Credit: Myriam Olmz | Tanbir Mahmud (via Unsplash)
Take it to a local drop-off point
You can drop your real tree throughout January at:
Angel Meadow Park (entrance Old Mount Street) – M4 4HA
Wythenshawe Park and Gardens Athletics Track – M23 0PH
Heaton Park (Middleton Road entrance) – M8 4NB
Boggart Hole Clough (near the Visitor Centre) – M9 7DH
Patchett Street, off Hyde Road in Ardwick – M12 4RY
Bring it to your local recycling centres
And finally, wherever you live in Manchester, you can take your real Christmas tree – and even your artificial tree that is beyond reuse – to your local recycling centre for free of charge, but it’s worth noting that if you’re planning on using a van, pick-up truck, or a twin-axle trailer to dispose of your tree, then you’ll probably need to apply for a permit.
You can find information about your nearest recycling centre here.
Are you elsewhere in Greater Manchester? Recycle for Greater Manchester (R4GM) has teamed up with local councils and charities across the region to provide Greater Manchester residents in all 10 boroughs with several different options for either recycling or donate their old Christmas trees.
Featured Image – Jelleke Vanooteghem (via Unsplash)
News
NHS releases list of first conditions set to be eligible for new ‘online hospital’
Emily Sergeant
The first conditions that are set to be eligible for video appointments via the new NHS online hospital have been revealed.
In case you hadn’t heard, back in September of last year, the Government has announced that the NHS would be setting up an ‘online hospital’ known simply as NHS Online – which will not have a physical site and instead digitally connect patients to expert clinicians anywhere across the country.
Ultimately, this means patients can be seen faster than normal, as teams triage them quickly through the NHS App and let them book in scans at times that suit them at centres closer to their home.
NHS Online – which will begin to see its first patients in 2027 – is expected to deliver the equivalent of up to 8.5 million virtual appointments and assessments in its first three years, according to the NHS, which is four times more than an average NHS trust.
And now, the NHS has selected nine ‘common’ conditions which will be the first to be treated by the NHS Online service.
📲 Introducing NHS Online 📲
A new digital hospital will transform healthcare.
From 2027, you'll be able to get specialist care:
✅ straight to your home via the NHS App ✅ faster than a traditional hospital appointment ✅ wherever you live in England
Women’s health issues, including severe menopause symptoms and menstrual problems that can be a sign of endometriosis or fibroids, will be among the conditions available for online referrals, as will prostate problems like prostate enlargement and a raised prostate specific antigen (PSA) level, along with eye conditions including cataracts, glaucoma, and macular degeneration.
NHS Online will also provide support for other painful and distressing conditions, such as iron deficiency anaemia and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
So, how will NHS Online work then? Well, when a patient has an appointment with their GP, they will have the option of being referred to the online hospital for their specialist care instead, and then from there, they’ll be able to book directly through the NHS App.
Once referred to the online hospital, patients will have the ability to see specialists from around the country without leaving their home or having to wait longer for a face-to-face appointment.
The NHS has released a list of the first conditions set to be eligible for the new ‘online hospital’ / Credit: Nordwood Themes (via Unsplash) | rawpixel
If they need a scan, test, or procedure, then they’ll be able to book this in at a time that suits them at Community Diagnostic Centres closer to home.
Patients will also be able to track their prescriptions and get advice on managing their condition at home too.
“We’ve selected nine common conditions which the NHS Online service will initially provide support for when it launches next year, including some women’s health issues as well as prostate problems,” commented Professor Stella Vig, who is the National Clinical Director for Elective Care at NHS England.
“We know that these conditions can be painful and difficult to cope with so providing faster, more convenient access to diagnosis and treatments will have a real and positive impact on people’s lives.”
Emily Sergeant -
15th March 2022 
