Vacant hotel rooms and other types of accommodation for Ukrainian refugees: FOI 202200329758

Information requested

1. How many vacant hotel rooms and other types of accommodation units were held by the Scottish Government for Ukrainian refugees from 1 October 2022 to 11 November 2022;

2. The cost of these vacant rooms to the taxpayer per day; and

3. The average number of new Ukrainian refugees arriving in Scotland per day requiring this accommodation.

Response

1. How many vacant hotel rooms and other types of accommodation units were held by the Scottish Government for Ukrainian refugees from 1 October 2022 to 11 November?

As of noon on the below dates:	Total available rooms for new arrivals as per date:
5 October 2022	311 rooms and 364 cabins
12 October 2022	411 rooms and 267 cabins
19 October 2022	512 rooms and 222 cabins
26 October 2022	551 rooms and 193 cabins
2 November 2022	525 rooms and 186 cabins*
9 November 2022	592 rooms and 162 cabins

* data from M/S Ambition is from 31 October.

Please note that this data should not be used as time series. Each data point represents a snapshot of information available on the reporting date. Number of available hotel rooms continues to change day on day. New rooms get added while others might be terminated. The change in available rooms is active and ongoing with rooms opening or closing down.

2. The cost of these vacant rooms to the taxpayer per day?
The average cost of a vacant room to the Scottish Government is £134 per day.

3. The average number of new Ukrainian refugees arriving in Scotland per day requiring this accommodation?
The Scottish Government publish regular Scotland-level data and information on people displaced by the war in Ukraine. The latest data, published, 20th October 2022, can be found on our website:
https://www.gov.scot/publications/ukraine-sponsorship-scheme-in-scotland-statistics-october-2022/pages/welcome-accommodation/

Not everyone sponsored by the Scottish Government or entering the UK through the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme will need accommodation provided to them. Many will have made 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.

Below is a table outlining the average daily number of people entering welcome accommodation, including hotel rooms and cabins on MS Victoria and MS Ambition.

As this value changes over time, we have provided a series of 2-week averages.

As of date:	14-day average of daily arrivals entering welcome accommodation in Scotland
5 October 2022	54
12 October 2022	51
19 October 2022	39
26 October 2022	26
2 November 2022	18
9 November 2022	15

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.