Scotsman Letters: Super sponsor plan will add to refugees’ fears

Ukrainian refugees rest at a sports arena converted into a temporary shelter in Dumbraveni, Romania (Picture: Armend Nimani/AFP via Getty Images)

I am confused and sceptical, indeed suspicious, about this idea for “super sponsors”.

The UK have announced their plans to allow a wide range of individuals and groups to take in Ukranian refugees, they will be paid £350 a month to do so, the people coming over will have access to the full range of services, and they can work if they want to. On day one alone, there were over 100,000 applications, and the website crashed, as expected. We know the demand is there and people will participate.

Now, the Scottish and Welsh governments say they want to act as a “super sponsor”. Instead of refugees moving from a holding area along the Ukranian border to a safe home in the UK, they will move to another holding area in Scotland, which will inevitably cause greater anxiety in their lives, and prolong it. Instead of negotiating the bureaucracy of one country, they will now have to negotiate two.

The numbers are interesting as well. You might expect ten percent of the 100,000 applications to come from Scotland, potentially 20,000 people. But the Scottish Government says it will take only 3000, fewer than a sixth of that total. So, Scottish Government is limiting initial numbers at well below expected levels of movement, and the UK government is saying there is no cap on numbers at all.

It seems to be that the Scottish Government is only getting involved in order to be seen to be important in the current circumstances. They have delayed setting up a fully functioning social security agency here because of the complexities, so what makes them think they can administer this? And what will the payment rates be - £351.50 a month and a tartan tammy as a welcome? I fear for the refugees in all this. We need to let them go straight to people who can look after them. Interference from a second government is not required.

Victor Clements, Aberfeldy, Perthshire

Hubris rules

As is to be expected, when it comes to anything Scotland does, no matter what field it may be in, hubris is always to the fore.

It was no surprise, then, that Scotland would not just be welcoming as many Ukrainian refugees as it can, it would be a “super sponsor”, a grand title which I assume was chosen to ensure any watching neutral that we, the Scottish nation and therefore the SNP government were somehow exceptional and standing out from the rest of the UK, and indeed, the rest of Europe. It was little wonder then, that the Welsh government, another inconsequential group of politicians on the world stage, should deem to do likewise.

Perhaps instead of this headline-grabbing drivel, the First Minister in Scotland could apply some of her incredible energy and hubris to explaining where the missing (unaccounted for) £5 billion Covid funding for businesses was spent (your report, 17 March). On at least three occasions in previous correspondence with the Scotsman in the last 12 months, I have asked this question, with no answers or explanations forthcoming. Now we are to believe it was done at such a frantic and helpful pace there was no time to write down the destinations. “Nothing to see here, move on.” So quick to be distributed it was, that Scotland’s taxi drivers were still waiting for assistance until very recently (some of whom waited 18 months).

This kind of lack of attention to detail (for surely that is what this was?) overseen by our lady in waiting, Kate Forbes, beggars belief. But then what would one expect from a minister who receives funds from the UK Government and immediately tells us it’s never enough and claims victimhood at every opportunity.

The only thing “super” about this regime at Holyrood is its vanity, its disproportionate opinion of itself and the powers it uses to suppress FOI at every opportunity available to it. But that is the way of nationalist politics and governments. A look around the rest of Europe should have alarm bells ringing loudly.

David Millar, Lauder, Berwickshire

Energy madness

As much as I agree with the drive to cut carbon footprint it seems crazy that we are sitting on oil and gas which we are actively refusing to extract. We could use this resource to become fuel independent and fund the development of green energy as well as driving down energy costs.

John Cutland, Kirkcaldy, Fife

Caution is good

Scotland is fortunate that Nicola Sturgeon is cautious on Covid and face masks (Letters, 17 March) as this has led to many fewer deaths and cases per head of population over the last two years compared to England and Wales. Boris Johnson’s dithering at the start of the pandemic has proved very costly for the economy and the health of the UK, as by 18 March 2020 most infected countries had put in strict controls – but not the UK, resulting in the third highest death rate in Europe.