Super Sponsorship Scheme for Displaced Ukrainians: FOI release

Information requested

You asked for a number of questions to be answered under FOISA in regards to the Scottish Super-Sponsorship Scheme for displaced Ukrainians.

Response

I have answered your request by including the question you have asked with the Scottish Government Response detailed below, i have tried to group questions together to ensure that this is concise and easily read.

Question 1, 2, 11,&12

1. The Scottish Government’s ‘super-sponsor’ scheme for Ukrainians was launched in March 2022 as part of the wider UK Government’s ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme. Please confirm whether it is a requirement of the visa, for those applying using the Scottish Government as a ‘sponsor’, for visa holders to travel to Scotland upon their arrival into the UK (if arriving outwith Scotland).

2. Please confirm whether it is a requirement of the visa, for those applying using the Scottish Government as a ‘sponsor’, for visa holders to be accommodated in temporary accommodation provided/arranged by the Scottish Government before being matched to longer term accommodation.

11. The First Minister’s ‘super-sponsor’ scheme for Ukrainians proposed that the Scottish Government would ‘act as the overall sponsor for the scheme in Scotland’ which ‘would enable Ukrainians to get clearance to come to Scotland quickly and be accommodated temporarily, while the Scottish Government then works with local partners to provide longer term accommodation, safeguarding and access to services’. As noted in previous questions, data provided by the Scottish and UK Governments does indicate that of the displaced Ukrainians arriving in the UK with the Scottish Government as a ‘sponsor’, around 43/44% of these have not, at any point, required the temporary accommodation (and safeguarding/services access) provided by the Scottish Government and may not have even travelled onto Scotland after arriving in the UK. Please provide information on whether the Scottish Government is able to identify a list of possible explanations as to why this is the case, for what is a significant proportion of visa holders with the Scottish Government as a ‘sponsor’.

12. Please provide information to outline what measures the Scottish Government may have taken, to identify the reasons why, temporary accommodation and access to services in Scotland, which the First Minister made a commitment to provide under her Super-Sponsorship visa scheme, has not been required by around 43/44% of the UK arrivals with a ‘super-sponsorship’ visa.

Scottish Government Response - Displaced people with visas are free to enter the country and live and work where they want. Not everyone entering the UK through the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (including those sponsored by the Scottish Government) will need accommodation provided to them. They may make their own arrangements, including renting their own accommodation or staying with friends and family. Some arrivals may have also self matched with a volunteer host, assisted by a charity or support network. Those arrivals may never be in contact with a welcome hub or local authority seeking accommodation. We do not collect data on this subset of displaced people from Ukraine.

Question 3&4

On the 22nd September 2022 at First Minister’s Questions Ms Sturgeon reported that, ‘more than 18,000 displaced Ukrainians are currently being accommodated in Scotland, which is almost 20% of the total number in the United Kingdom. This includes almost 15,000 Ukrainians under the Scottish Government’s super-sponsor scheme’, she added ‘it is important we recognise that Scotland is more than playing out part. Almost 20% of all displaced Ukrainians in the UK are being accommodated in Scotland’.

3. Please provide information and the associated data to support the First Minister’s statement that almost 20% of displaced Ukrainians in the UK are being accommodated actually in Scotland.
On the 1st November the Minister with Special Responsibility for Refugees from Ukraine Neil Gray MSP said, during his Ministerial statement, that, ‘thanks in large part to our super-sponsor scheme, Scotland has now offered a place of sanctuary to over 21,000 people – a fifth of all UK arrivals and double our population share’.

4. Please provide information and the associated data to support the statement from the Minister that 21,000 UK arrivals have ‘a place of sanctuary’ actually in Scotland.

Scottish Government Response - The UK Government’s Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) publish statistics on the numbers of visa applications, visas issued and arrivals to the UK where the sponsor location is Scotland on a weekly basis, and
provide a local authority breakdown of sponsor location. The full data set and methodology can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ukraine-sponsorship-scheme-visa-data-by-country-upper-and-lower-tier-local-authority.

Specifically, the statistics cited in Question 3 are based on the following spreadsheet:
“Visa data for Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme by country, upper and lower tier local authority (20 September 2022)”,
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1105679/Ukraine_sponsorship_scheme-visa_data_20_September_2022.ods

While the statistics cited in Question 4 are based on the “Visa data for Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme by country, upper and lower tier local authority (1 November 2022)” spreadsheet,
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1115231/Ukraine_sponsorship_scheme_-_visa_data_01_November_2022.ods

Proportions of displaced people from Ukraine who arrived on a visa with a Scottish sponsor cited in Question 3 and Question 4 are calculated as the number of displaced people who arrived on a visa with a Scottish sponsor (Scottish Government or individual) divided by the total number of those who have arrived with a sponsor located in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The number of arrivals into the UK is not necessarily reflective of the persons having arrived at the sponsors’ location. An individual, arriving on a visa sponsored by a Scottish Sponsor, may arrive elsewhere in the UK and decide to remain there.

In addition, the Scottish Government publish the latest Scotland-level data and information on people displaced by the war in Ukraine coming to Scotland through the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme. This data can be found on our website via: https://www.gov.scot/publications/ukraine-sponsorship-scheme-in-scotland-statistics-january-2023

Question 5,6,7&9

5. Data provided by the Scottish Government indicated that by mid-September 2022, 4,495 people who were granted visas through the Homes for Ukraine Scheme (including super-sponsor) had arrived in ‘longer-term’ accommodation and the number of displaced Ukrainians in ‘Welcome accommodation’ (including hotel rooms/cruise ship cabins) was around 6,540. This would account for 11,035 individuals in either long/short term accommodation in Scotland, however the total number of arrivals with a Scottish sponsor by 13 September 2022 through the Homes for Ukraine Scheme was 17,582. According to available data therefore, there remains around 6,547 or 37% of arrivals through the Homes for Ukraine scheme with a Scottish sponsor unaccounted for in the accommodation data. Is the Scottish government able to identify the whereabouts of these 6,547 arrivals and whether they have travelled to Scotland or are staying in other parts of the UK?

6. On the 1st November 2022 the Scottish Government published; ‘Scotland’s support for displaced people from Ukraine: Super Sponsor Scheme Review’. Data included in the Scottish Government’s Review indicated that that there had been 17,463 arrivals under the super sponsor scheme (point 5) and that 2,790 visa holders had been matched into longer term accommodation (point 17) with around 7000 in temporary accommodation provided by the Scottish government (point 28). There remains, therefore, around 7,673 arrivals (44% of the total super-sponsor arrivals) with a super-sponsor visa who have not been accommodated under the scheme. Please confirm whether or not the Scottish Government is able to identify the whereabouts of these 7,673 arrivals and whether they have travelled to Scotland or are staying in other parts of the UK?

7. At that time (1st Nov22), it was reported that when including those with a private sponsor in Scotland, more than 21,285 people had now arrived on a visa with a Scottish sponsor (point 6). With 3,822 arrivals with a private sponsor and the 9,790 visa holders accounted for in accommodation provided by the Scottish government, there remains 7693 individuals (36%) of the total visa holders with a Scottish sponsor not accounted for in the figures provided. Please confirm whether the figure of 36% is an accurate reflection of the number of displaced Ukrainians with a Scottish sponsor arriving in the UK who have not actually been accommodated in Scotland?

9. Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme Data provided by the Scottish Government (15 December) indicated that as of 13 December, a total of 22,219 displaced people from Ukraine have arrived in the UK on a visa with a Scottish sponsor. And at that time statistics (published weekly) from the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) indicated a total of 107,914 arrivals in the UK across all sponsor locations (England, Scotland (ScotGov/Individual), Wales (WelshGov/Individual) and Northern Ireland). Although around 20% of arrivals into the UK do have a Scottish sponsor, of these arrivals, 7770 are not accounted for in the data from the Scottish government as being accommodated actually within Scotland. The adjusted figure for arrivals into the UK with a Scottish sponsor being accommodated actually within Scotland is therefore around 13% rather than the 20% stated by the First Minister and the Minister with Special Responsibility for Refugees from Ukraine. Please confirm whether this figure of 13% is an accurate reflection of the number of displaced Ukrainians who have arrived in the UK with a Scottish ‘sponsor’ who have been accommodated actually in Scotland?

Scottish Government Response - While we strive to provide information wherever possible, in this case an exemption under Section 17(1) of FOISA applies, as the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

The number of arrivals into the UK is not necessarily reflective of the persons having arrived at the sponsors’ location. An individual, arriving on a visa sponsored by a Scottish Sponsor, may arrive elsewhere in the UK and decide to remain there. If a displaced person from Ukraine has been issued a visa, they are free to travel anywhere within the UK or to leave and re-enter the UK when they wish, as long as they are meeting the conditions within their visa.

Displaced people with visas are free to enter the country and live and work where they want. Not everyone entering the UK through the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (including those sponsored by the Scottish Government) will need accommodation provided to them. They
may make their own arrangements, including renting their own accommodation or staying with friends and family. Some arrivals may have also self-matched with a volunteer host, assisted by a charity or support network. Those arrivals may never be in contact with a welcome hub or local authority seeking accommodation. We do not collect data on this subset of displaced people from Ukraine.

Question 8

8. Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme Data provided by the Scottish Government (15 December) indicated that as of 13 December, a total of 22,219 displaced people from Ukraine have arrived in the UK on a visa with a Scottish sponsor with 18,155 of these arrivals sponsored by the Scottish Government. Across Scotland on 7 December, there were around 6,840 people in welcome accommodation and also, across the three main matching pathways (national matching, local matching, informal matching), around 3,545 individuals (1,770 cases) being sponsored by the Scottish Government had been matched into and arrived at their longer term accommodation in Scotland. This results in a figure of 10,385 arrivals into the UK under the Scottish governments ‘super sponsor’ scheme actually being accommodated within Scotland. There remains, therefore, around 7,770 arrivals (43% of the total super-sponsor arrivals) with a super-sponsor visa who have not been accommodated under the scheme. The ‘super-sponsor’ scheme was put on hold for new applications in July 2022 due to a lack of suitable accommodation. Please confirm whether or not temporary accommodation would have been able to be provided for the further 7,770 UK arrivals (existing visa holders) had they decided to actually travel onto Scotland and/or had required temporary accommodation?

Scottish Government Response - With pressure on temporary accommodation supply, SG and local government took a creative approach to securing additional safe and suitable accommodation, including hotels and university campuses, as well as the chartering of two passenger ships. We continually review and assess our temporary ‘welcome’ accommodation estate, including hotel accommodation and strive to ensure there is best value for money for the public purse through negotiation with our contractual provider for hotels and through the growth and reduction of welcome accommodation where necessary.

Question 13

13. A significant proportion of visa holders with the Scottish Government as a ‘sponsor’ have not required temporary accommodation or access to services within Scotland. Please provide information on whether the Scottish Government is able to identify whether these Ukrainian’s have required temporary accommodation or access to services provided by Local Authorities in other parts of the UK.

Scottish Government Response - While we strive to provide information wherever possible, in this case an exemption under Section 17(1) of FOISA applies, as the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

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