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Wishart condemns Tories for slashing support for Ukrainian refugees
News Release from Pete Wishart MP
Attn: News Desk For immediate release 02 June 2023
Wishart condemns Tories for slashing support for Ukrainian refugees
Mr Pete Wishart, MP for Perth and North Perthshire, has condemned the the UK Government for its decision to slash support for displaced Ukrainians from £10,500 to £5,900. Confirming the UK Government’s intention to cut support in a response to a letter from the Scottish Parliament’s Constitutions, External Affair and Culture Committee, Tory minister Felicity Buchan MP wrote that “the Government made the tough decision to reduce the Local Authority tariff to £5,900 per person”. This decision comes as living costs continue to spiral, with many low-income households struggling to make ends meet in the face of high inflation and energy costs.
Commenting, Mr Wishart said:
“The Tories’ slashing of support for Ukrainian refugees in the midst of their self-made cost-of-living crisis is utterly deplorable, but is the kind of decision we have come to expect from this hostile government.
“In Perth and Kinross we have the highest number per capita of Ukrainians settled through the Homes For Ukraine scheme out of all local authorities in Scotland. This is primarily due to the astounding generosity of the people of Perthshire, but also as a result of PKC’s proficient housing and integration strategies for our Ukrainian arrivals, which is now being used as an exemplar model for local authorities across Scotland.
“But without proper financial support, the outstanding work that PKC has been doing on this matter will inevitably be hindered, and is proof of the UK Government’s readiness to wash its hands of its moral duty to refugees and asylum seekers.”
“I will now be urging the government to reverse this decision in order to ensure our Ukrainian arrivals, who have suffered unimaginable trauma since the war began, are properly looked after here.”
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