Chamber and committees

When displaced people from Ukraine arrive at Scotland’s Ukraine Welcome Hubs, they are given an immediate warm welcome to Scotland and immediate support in a safe and secure space. If those from Ukraine need temporary accommodation they will be placed in a hotel or similar accommodation where they can stay until they can move into longer term accommodation.

Some people may choose to rent privately, while others can use the national matching service, delivered by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Scottish Government, which will seek to match them with an appropriately sized and located Scottish household under the super sponsor scheme. This matching service is working hard to find longer-term accommodation for all those in hotels or similar temporary accommodation.

We are taking actions to accelerate matching to the levels needed to move those from Ukraine out of temporary accommodation as soon as possible, including enhancing teams to boost capacity.

The Scottish Government has committed £11.2 million to increase capacity of resettlement teams, support refurbishment of properties, help integration and enhance the pace of checks.

Due to the urgent need to respond to a humanitarian crisis, the Scottish Government undertook rapid engagement with relevant organisations prior to and immediately after taking the decision to support displaced persons from Ukraine.

To address stakeholder concerns around the speed of the UK Government’s private matching scheme, as well as safeguarding issues, the Scottish Government and COSLA agreed to commit to an initial triage of 3000 displaced people from Ukraine through a Super Sponsor Scheme. This provided a fast and safe alternative to private sponsorship, meaning people could travel immediately and be provided with temporary accommodation, meals and a range of support and advice including translation, assessing medical needs (such as trauma) and applying for benefits.

The process of matching of arrivals from Ukraine has drawn on COSLA’s extensive experience. Such as with the Syrian Resettlement Programme, which saw all 32 local authorities in Scotland participate and welcome over 3,300 refugees into their communities.

The Scottish Government’s Super Sponsor Scheme has now offered sanctuary to over 10,000 displaced people from Ukraine to travel to safety in Scotland, far exceeding the original commitment and providing sanctuary for people who otherwise could not have travelled were it not for the Super Sponsor Scheme.

Scottish Governments priority is to ensure that displaced people who are already here, and those who have applied and are granted permission to travel, are able to stay in appropriate temporary accommodation and get the right support ahead of moving into safe, sustainable longer-term accommodation.

The Scottish Government has also made available £11.2 million in funding to help local authorities increase their teams to help people with temporary resettlement into communities across Scotland, and also to invest in making improvements to housing stock so that there are more homes available for Ukrainians to move into. We have also provided a further £1.3 million to the Scottish Refugee Council to enable it to increase its capacity and extend invaluable help and support to arriving Ukrainians, many of whom will have experienced significant trauma.

We are taking 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. We have, for example, chartered a second passenger ship, M/S Ambition, to be located in Glasgow. The ship should be fully operational in September, and it will provide up to a further 1750 people with the same level of facilities and support currently available to those on the M/S Victoria in Edinburgh.

The M/S Victoria I passenger ship in Edinburgh is currently being used as temporary accommodation for people displaced by the conflict in Ukraine. We are clear that we do not want to see people spending more time in temporary accommodation than is absolutely necessary, including the ship.

The ship has been chartered for 6 months, from July 2022 to January 2023. It has a total capacity of 739 cabins, which could accommodate up to 2,200 people. There is a range of cabins onboard ranging from 8m2 to 29.8m2.

Rigorous risk assessment and due diligence have been undertaken in relation to the ship and its use for temporary accommodation. Additionally, we have taken forward comprehensive joint assurance with the City of Edinburgh Council and its partners covering issues like safeguarding, public health and security.

There are a variety of services on-board for guests. This includes restaurants, child play facilities with toys and books, shops, laundry, cleaning, Wi-Fi access and communal spaces. Guests also have access to benefits support and healthcare services, including a GP service onshore with outreach on-board the ship. An activity programme for guests is also in preparation.

All 32 Scottish local authorities are working to conduct the necessary person and property checks for volunteers in Scotland who, having signed up initially for the UK Government scheme, have continued to express interest in hosting displaced people. Once checks have been completed, if the offer is deemed suitable, these hosts' details are uploaded onto the national matching service database, so that displaced people can be offered the opportunity to move into their homes.

We are aware that some volunteer hosts have expressed interest but have not yet been contacted, while others are still awaiting the outcome of checks. The Scottish Government is grateful to volunteer hosts for their generosity, and their patience. We are working closely with local authorities and with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), doing all we can to speed up the matching process and increase the numbers of displaced people moving into host accommodation, including enhancing teams to boost capacity.

When displaced people from Ukraine arrive at Scotland’s Ukraine Welcome Hubs, they are given an immediate warm welcome to Scotland and immediate support in a safe and secure space. Welcome Hub staff will talk to those who have arrived about their immediate needs, including language support.

Public services in Scotland – including healthcare, welfare, schools, councils and housing services – must provide individuals with a qualified interpreter if they need one. Some councils are also offering translated information on a variety of subject matters, and guests from Ukraine can discuss the availability of these with their assigned local authority caseworker.

The Scottish Refugee Council are working with the Scottish Government to deliver the Warm Scottish Welcome scheme, which includes translation and interpreting services. The Scottish Refugee Council have received funding from the Scottish Government to recruit additional advisors for their Refugee Integration Service, including Ukrainian speakers, as part of their work to deliver the Warm Scottish Welcome scheme.

We recognise that translation and interpreting services for people arriving in Scotland from Ukraine are extremely important and the Scottish Refugee Council have asked that anyone wishing to offer assistance in this area contact them to discuss what support they can offer.

It has been heart-warming to see the groundswell of support from our communities, pubic services, third sector and partners for people fleeing Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. We have worked closely and collaboratively with partners to stand up our Warm Scots Welcome response, ensuring that all those arriving from Ukraine are accommodated and supported as soon as they arrive in Scotland. Local authority caseworkers are in place to enable access to services including healthcare, education, employment and benefits advice.

In collaboration with the Scottish Refugee Council, we have delivered three public webinar sessions for hosts. Scottish Government officials regularly engage with community groups working to support people fleeing the war in Ukraine, and those who have volunteered to host displaced people in their homes.

We are working closely with the UK Government, local authorities and other partners to ensure we are ready to welcome people to Scotland and ensure they are provided with the safety and security they need to rebuild their lives. A national matching service, delivered by COSLA and Scottish Government, is working hard to find longer-term accommodation for displaced people from Ukraine, ensuring their full integration into communities across the country.

The Scottish Government has made available £11.2 million in funding to help local authorities increase their teams to help people with temporary resettlement into communities across Scotland, and also to invest in making improvements to housing stock so that there are more homes available for Ukrainians to move into.

The Scottish Government has also published guidance for local authorities which includes what safeguarding measures, such as disclosure checks, should be in place for people arriving. This guidance can be found on the Scottish Government website: https://www.gov.scot/publications/super-sponsor-scheme-and-homes-for-ukraine-guidance-for-local-authorities/pages/person-checks/ .

In 2021-22, total funding of £1.1 million has been provided to Care & Repair (C&R). This was, in addition to the £1 million allocated to Scottish Fire & Rescue Service (SFRS) for its Home Fire Safety Visit programme to install interlinked fire alarms in the homes of those at highest risk.

Our funding for Care and Repair has enabled them to fit interlinked fire alarms to 2,421 households, with a further 1,466 households still to be completed. C&R average costs for a supply and fit of the battery operated fire alarms for a typical 3 bedroom home was £300.

The Scottish Government funding was for battery-powered alarms, which do not require alarms to be connected to the mains electricity supply by a qualified electrician.

The Scottish Government Practical Fire Safety Guidance for Existing High Rise Domestic Buildings includes a template and advice on carrying out a fire risk assessment of the building. The outcome of this assessment will give an idea of the relative risk of the premises and what mitigations might be helpful.

The Scottish Government worked with key partners including the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Her Majesty's Fire Service Inspectorate for Scotland when drafting the guidance. The guidance was widely consulted on setting out the reasoning for the approach taken.