Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme in Scotland: statistics - February 2023

Background

This publication summarises the latest Scotland-level data and information on people displaced by the war in Ukraine arriving through the UK ‘Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme’, which includes those sponsored by the Scottish Government (also known as the Scottish Super Sponsor) and Individual Sponsors. This report gathers together various data sources, including operational data from welcome accommodation teams and local authorities across Scotland, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) and the Scottish Government (SG). This data includes the number of displaced people from Ukraine that are in welcome accommodation, and, where applicable, the progress on matching displaced people from Ukraine with a host. This data will complement and be published alongside information on the numbers of applications, visas and arrivals of displaced people from Ukraine to Scotland and the other three UK nations, already regularly published by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).

This report accompanies the experimental statistics tables on the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme in Scotland.

This statistical release has been designated as new experimental statistics which has not been assessed by the UK Statistics Authority. Experimental statistics are official statistics that are newly developed or innovative, and are undergoing evaluation. 

This report provides data on visas, arrivals, matches and accommodation. It is not a full account of all displaced people from Ukraine. 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.

In previous releases of the ‘Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme in Scotland: statistics’ publication we included the number of cases and individuals currently in case management in the national matching service (run by COSLA and the Scottish Government). This was previously provided in table 3 of January 2023 and December 2022 publications, table 7 of October 2022 and November 2022 publications and in the “Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme and longer term accommodation” section in the accompanying reports. Due to ongoing operational data cleansing exercises and improvements to how these figures are recorded and reported, the number of cases and individuals in case management is not included in the February publication. We expect to publish an update on these figures in the next release.

Additionally, the Scottish Government published Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme expressions of interest data reconciliation exercise on Friday 17 February 2023. Between November 2022 and January 2023 all local authorities returned data setting out the checking, matching and availability statuses of individual expressions of interest to host. This was a one-time ad-hoc release of management information and does not constitute an Official Statistics or National Statistics release.

The Scottish Government initiative, offer to host, which launched on 28 November 2022, allows people to volunteer a place to stay for displaced people from Ukraine and replaces the previous expressions of interest process initiated by UK government. Offer to host aims to improve- both the user experience for hosts and the efficiency of the overall service, by collecting all information required in a single step and passing it on to local authorities for hosts checks shortly after submission. The expressions of interest data reconciliation exercise publication referenced above includes data on the expressions of interest process only, and does not include hosts/ properties that have come through the offer to host process.  An update on the data from the offer to host initiative will be provided in due course.

Please note that a correction to the previously released experimental statistics publication (table 4 and the sections “key points” and “welcome accommodation”  in the accompanying report) was published on 23 February 2023. The January release was affected. This was due to a data supply problem and the change does not affect any other analysis in the tables or report.

Acknowledgements

The Scottish Government would like to thank all local authority teams for their contributions to the Scottish Government Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme local authority survey and to the data reconciliation exercise.  

We would also like to recognise the extensive work undertaken by colleagues across all organisations involved in the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme.