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Emergency appeal launched as Serco restarts asylum seeker evictions

Hundreds of asylum seekers in Glasgow could be evicted after outsourcing giant Serco announced plans to restart its lock change eviction programme.

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Emergency appeal launched as Serco restarts asylum seeker evictions #ukhousing

The firm announced it is due to restart the controversial plan next week, despite an appeal against the evictions lodged with the Court of Session awaiting a ruling.

The move has led charity Positive Action in Housing to launch an emergency appeal for spare rooms in Glasgow as well as financial donations. More than £3,000 has already been raised in the space of a few hours.

The appeal was submitted by lawyers from the Govan Law Centre (GLC) which is acting on behalf of two asylum seekers after the original case was dismissed in April this year. The appeal was heard on Monday, with a decision expected to be known by 1 July.

Serco is contracted by the Home Office to provide housing and support services for asylum seekers in Scotland.

However, the firm said it has been providing free housing to several hundred asylum seekers who have had their asylum claims refused and no longer qualify for government support at a cost of £1m per year to the business.

Julia Rogers, managing director – justice and immigration at Serco, said: “We very much regret the distress this will cause, but hope that it will be understood that we cannot be expected to provide free housing indefinitely to hundreds of people who have been unsuccessful in their asylum claims and most of whom have no legal right to remain in the UK.”

Serco said the programme will be rolled-out in a phased manner over the next four months with “no more than 30 people being issued with lock change notices in any one week and people given at least 21-days notice so they can make alternative arrangements”.

The firm first issued notices informing tenants at the properties that it would begin evictions last July.

Serco said it would be making a provision of £150,000 to homeless charities in the Glasgow area following the evictions.


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However, Robina Qureshi, executive director at Positive Action in Housing, said: “We are shocked by this latest move. We are therefore calling on Serco to suspend these evictions pending the Court of Session appeal.

“While we appreciate that Serco may not have received Home Office funding, we are talking about very vulnerable individuals, often with severe mental health issues, whose only alternative is destitution.”

GLC has also called for the evictions to be suspended. Glasgow City Council has previously opposed the evictions stating that it could lead to increased destitution on the city’s streets.

Susan Aitken, leader of the council, said: “It is a sorry and utterly unacceptable state of affairs when a UK government contract legally obliges its contractor to force people from their homes and leave public servants to choose between either breaking the law or allowing mass destitution on the streets of our city.”

In April, Court of Session judge Lord Tyre threw out the case brought by GLC against Serco and the Home Office stating that he was satisfied there was not a “relevant case” to answer.

The asylum seekers had argued that Serco was not legally allowed to evict them without obtaining a court order. Lord Tyre, however, ruled that this does not apply to asylum seekers because they can appeal to an immigration tribunal against a decision to terminate their accommodation.

Campaigners fear that this opens up asylum seekers in general to summary evictions without court orders.

A Home Office spokesperson told the BBC it took the well-being of asylum seekers and the communities in which they live “extremely seriously”.

They added: “We have and will continue to work closely with local authorities and partners to ensure that those who have no right to be in the UK leave their accommodation in a safe and secure way.

“We have been working with Glasgow City Council and other partners to ensure those at risk of potential eviction have the necessary advice on their options.”

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