Under the proposal, MS
Victoria I will dock in Leith in the north of Edinburgh and provide 739 rooms
for people fleeing the war in Ukraine. It comes after the Scottish Government
announced it would pause its super sponsor scheme for three months due to
unprecedented demand.
Scotland’s First Minister said
in March Britain was not doing nearly enough to help people fleeing the terror
in Ukraine.
But Miles Briggs MSP, Scottish
Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local
Government, said: “The SNP’s lack of preparation means problems are
ever-mounting for them as they to try support those who have fled from
war-torn Ukraine.
“It is all too typical
of SNP ministers overpromising and under-delivering.
“Not only will these
refugees be put in rooms akin to cramped prison cells, they could now be at a
greater risk of catching Covid and many are still stuck in limbo over their
accommodation.
“SNP ministers were quick
off the mark to talk up how this scheme would deliver, but it is running into
more and more problems. They now need to show leadership and get on top of
these issues, having called a halt to their super sponsor scheme.”
Mr. Briggs told Mail Online that pausing the super sponsor scheme was a “betrayal” of Ukrainian
refugees.
Neil Gray, Minister with
Special Responsibility for Refugees from Ukraine, said it was an
“incredibly difficult” decision to pause the super sponsor scheme.
It is understood those who
have already made their application or been granted their visa will not be
affected by the change.
Mr. Gray said: “With a
recent decrease in people applying for private sponsorship in England – and
Wales having paused their own scheme – the number of applications naming the
Scottish Government has increased considerably in recent weeks. For this
reason, we have taken the incredibly difficult decision to follow Wales in
pausing our scheme so we can continue to provide a high level of support and
care to everyone who has already been granted a visa.”
A total of 21,256 visas have
been issued to Ukraine nationals listing a Scottish sponsor.
