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Campaigners criticise council over evictions of Glasgow asylum seekers
Campaigners have criticised Glasgow City Council for its handling of the potential evictions of more than 300 asylum seekers.
A report by the council’s taskforce, which was set up to deal with the issue, made no recommendations to provide accommodation for the asylum seekers.
The council set up the taskforce in August last year after outsourcer Serco threatened to change locks on the homes of some of its asylum seeker tenants in Glasgow.
Serco intends to evict 329 asylum seekers in total, as they are no longer eligible for asylum seeker accommodation.
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In its report last month, the taskforce made a number of recommendations, including that the Home Office support a Glasgow pilot scheme allowing asylum seekers to work six months after their asylum claim has been submitted.
Currently, asylum seekers are not allowed to work in the UK. They are permitted to apply for the right to work after one year but, according to the taskforce, “this is restricted to a very small number of jobs and it is extremely rare for anyone to be granted that right”.
The report did not, however, contain any recommendations to provide accommodation to the asylum seekers, despite saying when it announced the taskforce: “Glasgow is setting up a taskforce in a bid to help asylum seekers affected by Serco’s planned lock changes.”
The taskforce said it “was not able to identify a solution for people who become appeal rights exhausted”.
Campaign group Asylum Seeker Housing Project, in a lengthy response, said that this statement was “disingenuous”.
It added: “It would be more accurate to suggest that the taskforce was unwilling, after seven months of deliberation, to develop a solution to accommodate and support some of the most vulnerable people in our city including the victims of sexual exploitation, those with significant mental health problems and the victims of torture.”
The evictions are currently on hold until a judgement is issued by the Court of Session. The Govan Law Centre brought a few cases challenging the legality of Serco’s plan to change locks on the homes.
