Scotland will suspend its sponsorship scheme for Ukrainian refugees for three months as it faces a lack of suitable accommodation, the government has announced.
Stopping the scheme would “ensure that those displaced people who are already here, and those who will arrive in the coming months, will be safe, secure and supported for as long as they need, following the dangers they face sent home,” the government said in a statement.
So far, 4,666 out of a total of 7,000 Ukrainians who have arrived in Scotland have done so under the “supersponsor scheme”, which launched on 18 March. The country expects to take in an extra 18,000 people in the coming months, meaning it will have issued more visas per capita than England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
If numbers continue at this rate, local authorities may have to resort to emergency accommodation, which the government said was “not a sustainable solution” and would not achieve the “warm Scottish welcome” they seek to offer the traumatized and vulnerable people.
The Scottish Government has called on the UK Government to lift all visa requirements. Under the scheme – which is due to be adjourned on Wednesday – people applying for UK visas can choose the Scottish Government as a sponsor. Only after the UK Home Office has approved the application can the refugee travel to Scotland.
As of July 5, government figures show that applications for visas listing Scotland as a sponsor were up 21% on the previous week, with visas issued up 27% and arrivals under the sponsor scheme up 20 %.
With the numbers expected to rise, the Scottish Government has provided extra accommodation in hotels and university campuses and recently chartered a cruise ship to provide extra temporary accommodation with 739 rooms for six months from July.
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North Lanarkshire Council has also announced plans to restore two apartment towers previously slated for demolition to house Ukrainian refugees. The council said 200 homes would be available for use in six weeks.
“I know the people of North Lanarkshire will welcome those facing such uncertain times with their usual warmth and generosity and I’m delighted we can act quickly to help,” said Jordan Linden, leader of North Lanarkshire Council Lanarkshire.
Scotland’s announcement comes after the Welsh Government suspended a similar scheme on June 10. The three-month break in Scotland will not affect nearly 18,000 sponsorship scheme applicants who are yet to arrive, the government has said.
The UK government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme – which matches refugees with families in England – has been beset by a series of problems. It was revealed in May that the government was struggling to resettle hundreds of Ukrainians granted visas under the scheme because the people they were meant to stay with were deemed “unsuitable”.
Neil Gray, the Scottish minister with special responsibility for Ukrainian refugees, said the temporary pause was one that “obviously we didn’t want” but would ensure Scotland continued “to give the people of Ukraine the welcome they deserve”.
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