UK Government urged to meet Ukrainians in Scotland to hear of ‘challenges’

UK Government officials are being challenged to meet Ukrainians living in Scotland to hear about the “challenges” they face after fleeing war in the homeland.

Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville extended the invitation as she met with Home Secretary Yvette Cooper in Glasgow.

Somerville pressed the Home Secretary on issues linked to migration when the pair had discussions on Sunday.

It comes as the UK Government is preparing to introduce a new scheme which will give eligible Ukrainians permission to remain in the UK for a further 18 months.

But Somerville, speaking after the meeting at the Festival Court Immigration Enforcement hub said that “further clarity” on how this would work in practice was “urgently needed”.

Applications to the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme are expected to open from early 2025.

Somerville said she had “shared our support for the Ukraine permission extension scheme” with the Home Secretary, but added: “Further clarity on how the scheme will operate in practice is urgently needed to provide displaced Ukrainian people with the stability that they deserve.

“I extended an invite for UK Government officials to meet with Ukrainians living in Scotland and the organisations that support them, to hear directly about the challenges they face and the reassurance that they need.”

She also called for the UK Government to work with the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council on the “challenges” in the city, where a large number of refugees are presenting as homeless.

New figures last week showed Glasgow had the largest increase in homeless applications of any local authority in Scotland, with the council saying this was due to “an increase in applications from asylum seekers and refugees”.

Homelessness applications in the city from those who have been granted refugee status or leave to remain have nearly doubled in the last 12 months, going from 1,384 to 2,709, the data for 2023-24 showed.

Somerville said she had “also asked the UK Government to work with the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council to address the challenges being faced by the council, due to the urgent housing needs of people seeking asylum as a result of years of backlog that have built up within the system”.

The Scottish Social Justice Secretary said she had also used the meeting to “highlight the need to ensure Scotland has a migration system which supports our economy, public services and communities”.

Somerville said: “The Scottish Government will continue to press the benefits of a tailored migration route for Scotland.”

The UK Government has been contacted for comment.