Refugees face homelessness on arrival
There has been further instances of people who have fled Ukraine ending up homeless in Scotland, MSPS have heard.
The scots man told earlier this month how some refugees had been forced to present to local authorities as homeless after arrangements with Scottish hosts fell through.
Yesterday, Holy rood’ s Constitution,europe, external affairs and Culture Committee heard further evidence from local authority representatives.
The committee was told that while there is a “really strong structure” in place for resettling refugees, there have been cases already where difficulties in securing suitable accommodation has led to them presenting as homeless.
Cosla policy manager Gayle Findlay said the problems with the family visa structure have not necessarily arisen from breakdowns of relationships between family members, but rather from issues such as a lack of space to accommodate them.
She added that basic factors, such as the person finding they are allergic to pets in the household, can also contribute to the problem.
Ms Findlay said: “Currently, unfortunately, the only route for those people whose placements break down, or they’re unable to stay with their family, is to present as homeless withintheir local authority area that they may be in.”
She said the Homes for Ukraine scheme, operating under a visa-driven system, means people can arrive in scotland just as the local authority hosting them receives the informationrequired to identify suitable housing–putting pressure on councils.
This was echoed by Hazel Chisholm, housing policy officer for Highland Council, who told the committee her local authority has already identified someone as homeless after their placement broke down.
Neil Gray, the minister with special responsibility for Ukrainian refugees arriving in Scotland, told msps on wednesday that there has been“anecdotal evidence” of people having to return to Ukraine as a result of delays to visa processing.
Ms Find lay said there is“frustration”among people involved in the rehoming process due to confusion over who is operating the Homes for Ukraine system.
Auk government spokesperson said: “The Ukraine Family Scheme has helped more than 32,000 people fleeing the barbaric invasion of Ukraine, enabling them to be reunited with family in the UK.