Welcome to Scotland: Ukrainian refugees to be housed on a SHIP or in crumbling f lats
HUNDREDS of Ukrainian refugees are set to be housed on a cruise liner docked in Scotland’s capital.
The floating hotel plan was revealed yesterday as the Scottish Government was temporarily forced to halt new arrivals due to a lack of accommodation.
Displaced Ukrainians will also be housed in tower blocks previously earmarked for demolition.
SNP ministers announced that from tomorrow they are introducing a three-month pause on new visa applications for displaced Ukrainians.
In order to help those who have already applied for or been granted a visa, the Government also revealed
‘Shoddy planning and lack of foresight’
that emergency measures include chartering the MS Victoria – which will be docked at Leith, in Edinburgh – to provide an additional 739 rooms.
It comes after North Lanarkshire Council confirmed it would use £5million of government funding to reinstate 200 propeties in high rise towers in Coatbridge and Wishaw to house Ukrainian refugees.
Critics accused the SNP Government of ‘shoddy planning and lack of foresight’ after previously pledging it would welcome more refugees from Ukraine through its ‘super sponsor’ scheme. Ministers had denied that the scheme would need to be paused due to a lack of accommodation.
Scottish Conservative housing spokesman Miles Briggs said: ‘The SNP talked up their super sponsor scheme as proof of how welcoming they were being, but that now appears to be unravelling. Their scheme has been beset with problems from the start, including reports of Ukrainian refugees being shunted around the country and the scheme actually meaning applications being processed more slowly.’
He added: ‘That is typical of the SNP’s shoddy planning and lack of foresight.’
The Scottish Government was yesterday unable to give any further details about the use of the MS Victoria or the costs involved.
A spokesman said visa applications listing the government as sponsor rose by 21 per cent over the week to July 5, while the number of visas issued rose by 27 per cent and arrivals under the super sponsor scheme soared by 20 per cent.
The spokesman said the suspension was needed ‘to ensure safe accommodation can continue to be provided to those who have already applied and may now travel to Scotland’.
A total of 21,256 visas have been issued naming a Scottish sponsor, and Scotland is currently providing sanctuary to more than 7,000 people.
Scottish Labour external affairs spokesman Sarah Boyack
said: ‘The conflict is far from over, but Ukrainians are having the rug pulled out from under them.’
Lib Dem deputy leader Wendy Chamberlain said Vladimir Putin ‘is not going to pause his assault on Ukraine for three months while [Refugees Minister] Neil Gray & Co iron out the bureaucratic kinks’.
A Government spokesman said: ‘The costs for MS Victoria are similar to equivalent hotel rooms. The ship will offer... safe accommodation, restaurants, child facilities, shops, cleaning and communal spaces.’