We asked DLUHC about the value for money of the scheme. DLUHC told us that it thought the cost of scheme was much lower than for other resettlement schemes. It explained that the cost per night of the accommodation was lower as sponsors provided the accommodation.44 Thank you payments equated to costs of £6 per person per night (£8 once increased to £500 after 12 months) compared with £98 per person per night for Afghans being hosted in hotels. This calculation, however, did not factor in additional funding that was available under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, for example, £150 million of funding given to local authorities for homelessness prevention.45 DLUHC also considered that, although hard-to-quantify, the support offered by sponsors to individuals, would otherwise have fallen on the public purse to help people into appropriate education or training or work opportunities. The Home Office noted that it was difficult to measure the value for money of a humanitarian scheme, because it was about saving people’s lives, but told us that it had spent just over £50 million on resourcing the scheme.46 41 Letter to Committee of Public Accounts from Permanent Secretary, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, 7 December 2023 42 C&AG’s Report para 4.21 43 Qq 78–79; C&AG’s Report paras 4.22 44 Qq 76–77 45 C&AG’s Report para 3.7 46 Qq 76–77 Homes for Ukraine 17