Glasgow housing four times more asylum seekers than Home Office plans

Glasgow is housing four times more asylum seekers than the UK Home Office has planned, according to evidence presented to Westminster.

The city houses the highest number of asylum seekers in the UK and 92% of those in Scotland at a time when the local authority has declared a housing emergency.

The Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) told the Home Affairs Committee that UK asylum housing contractors at Mears Group are currently using 4,103 bed spaces from a capacity of 6,735.

This is despite the Home Office national plan advising that Glasgow should have 993 bedspaces used for asylum seekers, evidence from the HSCP said.

Highlands & Islands

Hundreds of asylum seekers to be housed at Scottish military barracks

The Home Office confirmed on Monday that Cameron Barracks in Inverness will be one of two sites used to house around 900 men temporarily.

It comes as the UK Home Affairs Committee published its fourth report on the Home Office’s management of the asylum accommodation system on Monday.

In it, the Committee accused the Home Office of presiding over “an increasingly expensive asylum accommodation system”, in which asylum accommodation contracts are expected to more than triple from £4.5bn to £15.3bn between 2019–29.

“This is the result of a series of failures by the Home Office in the design of the original contracts, and a manifest failure by the Home Office to grip the contracts and respond to increasing demand,” the report said.

“The Home Office has undoubtedly been operating in an extremely challenging environment, but its chaotic response has demonstrated that it has not been up to the challenge.”

On Tuesday, the Home Office announced hundreds of asylum seekers would be moved to a military barracks in Inverness to reduce the use of hotels.

‘Uneven distribution putting pressure on local authorities’

The UK Government’s approach to asylum accommodation has led to it being distributed unevenly across the country and within local areas.

According to the Home Affairs Committee, it is “putting pressure on local services and creating or exacerbating community tensions”.

It echoes the evidence from Glasgow’s HSCP, which said the existing plan to move towards asylum accommodation dispersal across all local authorities in Scotland is “progressing very slowly and not meeting Home Office projections”.

“Despite the move towards full dispersal announced in April 2022, 92% of all refugees in Scotland are supported in Glasgow and have been for many years,” the Partnership said.

The HSCP revealed that 4,103 out of all 4,436 asylum seekers in Scotland were housed in Glasgow, despite bordering six neighbouring authorities “who have comparable housing stock types”.

“Many of these authorities have not declared a housing emergency and are not routinely breaching homelessness legislation, yet there does not appear to be any appetite to scale up accommodation in these authorities,” the evidence stated.

The Home Affairs Committee agreed that the UK had made “limited progress” towards a fairer distribution of asylum accommodation, and it was “sceptical” that the plans will ever be achieved.

“The department has also not done enough to engage with local authorities or local communities, undermining trust and the ability of local partners to respond to the placement of asylum seekers in their area,” the report added.

The Partnership said the “disproportionate number of asylum seekers in the city” are “consequentially, limiting the ability of the local authority to access [social and private] accommodation for homeless households”.

“For example, Mears Group lease over 1,500 properties in the private rented sector, which could be used by a commissioned third sector provider to accommodate homeless households,” HSCP evidence stated.

“At present, Glasgow is currently accommodating over 1,500 homeless households in bed and breakfast/hotel accommodation which is defined as ‘unsuitable accommodation’ under legislation.

“The lack of access to accommodation in the city is a significant factor in the use of this type of accommodation.”

The HSCP added: “Glasgow has a long and proud history of welcoming refugees and those seeking asylum from all over the world.

“Glasgow recognises the significant contribution made by those granted refugee status who have added value to local communities, both culturally and economically, bringing skills, experience and a willingness to contribute to the city.”

The Home Affairs Committee has recommended that the Home Office reduce its “over-reliance” on contingency accommodation, like hotels, for asylum seekers, re-examine and strengthen contracts with contractors, establish more oversight of subcontractor and provider performance, and conclude the process of recouping excess profits for past years as quickly as possible.