It's claimed thousands of Ukrainians are still living in temporary accommodation in Scotland

Thousands of displaced Ukrainians remain in temporary accommodation a year after the Scottish Government "paused" its super-sponsor scheme, the Liberal Democrats have said.

The party pointed to figures from June 5 which showed there were 3,180 Ukrainians in welcome accommodation such as hotels, and 765 onboard the MS Victoria cruise ship.

The Scottish Government paused its super-sponsor scheme in July 2022 amid high demand.

Ministers said more permanent homes would be found for those who had fled the war.

More than 24,000 displaced Ukrainians have arrived in Scotland through an individual sponsor or the super-sponsor scheme.

Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: "According to the latest figures, more than one in 10 of those who reached Scotland are still stuck in temporary accommodation.

"Thousands of people are still living out of suitcases and in hotels.

"Scottish ministers were desperate for positive headlines but the big promises they made were never matched with the resources that local authorities needed to vet volunteer hosts or house these people properly.

"I warned a year ago that the 'paused' scheme would never reopen.

"Yet despite cutting off this route to safety and vastly reducing the number of Ukrainians able to travel to Scotland, ministers have still not got their act together to ensure everyone is housed and in receipt of basic services.

"I am concerned that unless the new minister for migration takes urgent action to help local authorities, many of these families and individuals will be trapped in limbo, unable to get on with their lives."

Scotland's Migration Minister Emma Roddick said: "Since the start of the illegal war against Ukraine, almost 25,000 people with a Scottish sponsor have arrived in the UK, over 20,000 of them through the Scottish Government's Super Sponsor scheme.

"Our priority is to support everyone who remains in welcome accommodation to access longer-term housing and ensure new arrivals can be safely accommodated.

"The number of people in temporary welcome accommodation has been on an overall decreasing trend since November 2022.

"We also recently completed the safe disembarkation of the MS Victoria ahead of the contract end on 11 July, with all guests supported into onward accommodation.

"We continue to work closely with local authorities to help displaced people secure longer-term housing, including making full use of existing and new volunteer hosts, social housing and supporting access to viable private rental options.

"The health and wellbeing of displaced people also remains a priority and we are helping them access employment and education as well as public services including healthcare.

"Our Ukraine Longer-Term Resettlement Fund is also making up to £50 million available to local authorities and registered social landlords to bring empty and void properties back into use.

"We continue to work in partnership with councils and housing associations on a healthy pipeline of new and potential applications."

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