Asylum seekers not the cause of Scotland's housing crisis - SNP minister Màiri McAllan
The government minister said the UK Labour government is running through asylum applications ‘far too quickly without proper protections or funding’
Housing Secretary Màiri McAllan says she is proud to offer sanctuary to asylum seekers as she declared they were not the cause of Scotland’s housing crisis.
The SNP minister also criticised the UK Labour government for running through asylum applications “far too quickly without the proper protections or funding”.
Her comments came after several Scottish Labour MPs blamed the spiralling asylum numbers north of the Border on the Scottish Government.
Speaking to The Scotsman at the annual homelessness conference in Perth on Monday, Ms McAllan said: “I’m afraid what’s happening here is certain actors are attaching presumptions to the rules which have no basis in fact.
“In a housing emergency, you do not start rolling back on people’s homelessness rights.
“Those who are seeking asylum and protection in this country have not caused the housing emergency. We should be proud of offering sanctuary to those who’ve been given leave to remain.”
Ms McAllan added: “Before somebody even presents in the homelessness system in Scotland, they’re part of the UK government’s asylum system - that’s where the hotels’ policy exists.
“It was a policy undertaken by the Conservatives, which allowed people to languish, and Labour are now running through it far too quickly without the proper protections for individuals and without the proper funding.
“They need to sort that out and I’ve called on the new home secretary to do that. But I’ll not be rolling back on a single person’s homelessness rights.”
Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville declared a national housing emergency in May last year.
Ms McAllan’s comments come as a new report by Westminster’s home affairs committee warned that billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money was being wasted running the UK asylum system. The report said more than 75 per cent of all asylum accommodation costs are now spent on hotels. This is despite hotels only housing a fraction of those seeking refuge.
The report also said Glasgow was bearing “disproportionate pressures”, with the city housing four times as many asylum seekers as the UK government plan allows.
In her speech to the homelessness conference, Ms McAllan detailed how the government is spending an extra £1.6 million this year on tackling homelessness, reducing poverty and supporting women fleeing domestic abuse.
This includes spending a further £1m on discretionary housing payments to allow local authorities to move people from temporary accommodation into settled homes.
A further £100,000 will be spent on expanding an emergency fund for outreach workers to help rough sleepers, and £500,000 for the fund to leave, which supports women experiencing domestic abuse to buy essentials when leaving an abusive partner.
Earlier this month several Scottish Labour MPs placed the blame for Glasgow’s asylum seeker crisis on the SNP Government, including Glasgow South West MP Dr Zubir Ahmed and East Kilbride and Strathaven MP Joani Reid.
The most recent figures show Glasgow City Council hosted more asylum seekers than any other local authority in the UK. The majority of these asylum seekers are living in long-term accommodation, costing the council an additional £66m in housing costs a year.
As of June, Glasgow hosted 3,844 asylum seekers. Birmingham was second with 2,755 and London Hillingdon was third with 2,481. There was no other Scottish town or city in the top 20.
The UK Home Office has been approached for comment.
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.