Influx of 18,000 Ukrainians in Scotland could be forced to sleep in emergency refugee centres with at least 1700 already living on CRUISE SHIPS after 10,000 Brits pulled out of Homes for Ukraine scheme
- Up to 18,000 Ukrainian refugees in Scotland may have to live in ‘refugee centres’
- These are large halls similar to what has been used in Poland since the the war
- Half of the 20,000 Scots who volunteered to host refugees have dropped out
- A ship with a 1,700 capacity MS Ambition arrived in Edinburgh yesterday
A possible influx of 18,000 Ukrainians with permission to enter Scotland could be forced to sleep in emergency ‘refugee centres’ sharing large halls with many others after 10,000 hosts withdrew accommodation.
The Scottish Government suspended its Super Sponsor visas in June, which named itself as the main sponsor.
MS Ambition, with capacity to house 1,700 refugees on a temporary basis yesterday arrived in Glasgow, the second cruise ship to house refugees in Scotland.
Hundreds of people are already living on the first ship, MS Victoria, which has been docked in Leith, Edinburgh since July and has a capacity to house more than 750 refugees.
Latest figures show 29,992 visas have been approved under the Super Sponsor scheme but only 12,390 refugees are in Scotland, meaning more than 17,600 could still be yet to arrive.
However, more than half of the 20,000 Scots hosts who volunteered for Homes for Ukraine have now dropped out.
A potential influx of 18,000 Ukrainians with permission to enter Scotland could be forced to sleep in large halls with hundreds of others after 10,000 hosts withdrew accommodation
The MS Ambition on the River Clyde underneath the Erskine Bridge yesterday sailing to dock at the King George V docks in Glasgow. It will serve as accommodation for up to around 1,700 Ukraine refugees from this month until March next year
The first ship, the MS Victoria ferry with a capacity of over 750 has provided temporary accommodation for Ukrainian refugees invited to Scotland since July. Pictured: Two-year old Oleksandra Kuleshyna with her father Igor Kuleshyn (second right) and other members of the Freedom Ballet of Ukraine, who have been performing at this year’s Edinburgh Festival, alongside MS Victoria in the Port of Leith, Edinburgh
The possibility of dormitory-style emergency accommodation in large halls, which was used in Poland when the war broke out, is now being considered.
But concerns over privacy have been raised, while ministers insisted safeguarding was a priority.
Scotland’s refugees minister Neil Gray described ‘exponential growth’ in the number of people applying for visas under the Super Sponsor scheme in early June meant it was suspended in July for three months while officials deal with a backlog of housing needs.
The option of creating refugee centres is being considered as an emergency measure as part of an overarching review which promises to look at ‘creative’ solutions to long-term housing for Ukrainians, is not due to be published for a number of weeks.
Mr Gray said: ‘We want to avoid that, obviously. The whole point of the work that we’re doing around temporary accommodation is to provide people with the welcome that they deserve.
‘We’re looking to do everything we can to get beyond the situation with temporary accommodation, which is challenging, into a situation that is more sustainable.
‘The Scottish Government is providing accommodation that is safe and sustainable while people are waiting to be matched to suitable longer-term accommodation.
‘The arrival of the MS Ambition in Glasgow is a key part of that provision, which means we are providing sanctuary to more displaced people per head of population than any other part of the UK.
‘We are working closely with the council and other local partners to finalise plans for how the ship will be used, with safeguarding of the people on board being the absolute priority.’
He added: ‘Now that the MS Ambition has arrived, this work will begin at pace and people will move on board once the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council are satisfied that the necessary preparations, including health and safety checks, have been satisfied.
‘We do not want people spending more time in temporary accommodation, such as the cruise ships, for any longer than is absolutely necessary.
‘We continue to take significant action to increase our temporary accommodation capacity as well as boosting our matching system to maximise the number of people who can be placed with volunteer hosts who have completed the necessary safeguarding checks.’
Scotland has welcomed 15,757 refugees under both the Super Sponsor and individual sponsor scheme – 18 per cent of the total share taken in to the UK.
Scottish Labour’s spokeswoman for external affairs, Sarah Boyack, said: ‘If this is true, it would be a betrayal of those who need our help now.
‘This is unimaginable in terms of people’s privacy and safety, given what they have already been through by the time they arrive in Scotland.
‘It exposes the failure of the SNP to make the Super Sponsor scheme work.
‘This cannot be about making promises just to grab a headline.
‘Where’s the forward planning to support people who are desperate for help and have been fleeing Putin’s invasion for months now?’
‘This is unimaginable in terms of people’s privacy and safety, given what they have already been through by the time they arrive in Scotland,’ said Scottish Labour’s spokeswoman for external affairs, Sarah Boyack. Pictured: Refugees who fled the war in Ukraine rest inside an old train station building that was converted for a temporary refugee shelter in Krakow, Poland in March
Ukrainian refugees at the Humanitarian Aid Center set up at the Global Expo exhibition hall in Warsaw in July. The makeshift refugee centre was meant to be a temporary solution
Scottish refugees minister Neil Gray said: ‘We do not want people spending more time in temporary accommodation, such as the cruise ships, for any longer than is absolutely necessary.’ Pictured: Ukrainians rest at an exhibition hall, turned into a refugee center in Nadarzyn, near Warsaw
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: ‘We have got these poor people who have fought their way out of Ukraine with Scotland as the destination in their sights – and I don’t think they would have expected an abandoned gym hall as a place to lay their heads.’
The MS Ambition, which has 714 cabins, has been chartered for six months and will be located at King George V docks on the River Clyde, and passengers will join and leave the ship via shuttle bus services, which will run 24 hours a day.
The ship is part of a Government contract worth up to £100 million with Corporate Travel Management (North) Ltd to source and provide travel-related services for displaced people from Ukraine.
Mr Cole-Hamilton said: ‘When I first heard that new refugees were to be housed in a cruise ship, I was immediately concerned about the safety and suitability of this accommodation.
‘The operators are doing all they can to make these ships comfortable, but at best this is a short-term fix, not a long-term solution. These boats may be liveable now, but there are real risks of conditions deteriorating as they fill up and winter sets in.’
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