THE Scottish Government has been accused of “posturing but not delivering” on help for refugees.
The Labour Party said the SNP had dropped a manifesto pledge to create Scotland’s first “cities of refuge.”
The vow committed the government to working with local authorities to ensure “Scotland is a welcoming place for writers and artists fleeing violence and persecution.”
However, in a response to a written question at Holyrood, ministers said work on this had not yet started and would take place later in the parliamentary term.
In her answer, Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison said: “The development of cities of refuge will align with the approach of our New Scots refugee integration strategy, which sets out the vision of a welcoming Scotland, where people seeking protection are supported to rebuild their lives from the day they arrive.”
Labour MSP Sarah Boyack said: “The SNP’s decision to kick this policy into the long grass is another blow to their claims to be standing up for refugees.
“As is so often the case with this timid government, they are posturing but not delivering.
“We need to lead the way in actions as well as words when it comes to welcoming refugees to Scotland.
“The SNP must stop dragging their heels and deliver this pledge with the urgency and ambition needed.”
Earlier this month, the Scottish Government announced it was pausing its super-sponsor scheme for Ukrainian refugees due to high demand and a lack of suitable accommodation.
The Government said pausing the scheme would “ensure that those displaced people who are already here, and those who will arrive in the coming months, will be safe, secure and supported for as long as they need.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The welfare of all displaced Ukrainians staying in Scotland remains our absolute priority.
"Scotland is currently providing sanctuary for more than 8,000 people, two-thirds of whom applied under the Scottish super sponsor scheme, with more expected to arrive over the summer.
"This exceeds the 3,000 which the Scottish Government committed to welcome when the scheme launched in March, to provide a rapid route to safety for those fleeing the crisis caused by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
“The Scottish Government is prioritising support for recent arrivals, including displaced Ukrainians.
"As set out in the New Scots refugee integration strategy, we have a tried and tested approach to integrating refugees into our communities, schools and workplaces.
"Nonetheless, we will continue to seek to improve our approach where we can.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel