Any adult in the UK can act as a sponsor providing they pass eligibility checks conducted by the Home Office and local authorities. Sponsors are expected to offer accommodation for at least six months, although many relationships have lasted longer and some have ended before then. By end of March 2023, DLUHC had spent £100 million on thank you payments made to sponsors to recognise their role in providing accommodation to Ukrainians.30 In November 2023, the government extended ‘thank you’ payments of £500 a month into a third year for sponsors so that Ukrainians could stay with them for the full three year period of their visas.31 24 Q 32 25 Qq 46–48 26 Qq 32–34 27 C&AG’s Report para 4.12 28 Q 32 29 Q 33–34 30 C&AG’s Report 3.6 31 Qq 12, 20, 57; HM Government, Autumn Statement 2023, November 2023, para 4.107, 5.199 14 Homes for Ukraine