Question reference: S6W-09021
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
- Date lodged: 13 June 2022
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Current status: Answered by Neil Gray on 21 June 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has had any correspondence with the UK Government in relation to providing routes to permanent settlement for Ukrainian nationals who have arrived in Scotland with limited leave to remain, through the Ukraine Family Scheme, Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme and the Ukraine Extension Scheme.
Answer
The UK Government's response to the Ukraine crisis is predicated upon complex, bureaucratic, short-term visas, not humanitarian need. Inordinate time and effort has been required to patch this broken system. Scotland's super-sponsor scheme seeks to do just this. But there remain serious gaps in the UK's schemes even in the short term – in particular routes for vulnerable unaccompanied children and others left out of the existing schemes.
In my regular correspondence, I have pressed the UK government to put people before process. I have been clear that, while many displaced people will want to return to Ukraine when it is safe to do so, the UK should offer sanctuary for as long as is required, and permanently if necessary.