Scotland’s largest city, and the country’s only designated asylum dispersal area, is now at the centre of a growing political row following heated exchanges in the Scottish Parliament this week. According to Migration Scotland, Glasgow currently supports around 4,500 individuals seeking asylum, making it the UK local authority with the highest number of asylum seekers. One local politician argued this week during the First Minister’s Question Time that this is leading to mounting pressure on housing in the city.
During First Minister’s Questions on Thursday September 4, Scottish Conservative Sandesh Gulhane criticised what he described as the Scottish Government’s “open-door policy,” and claimed that newly arrived asylum seekers are being prioritised for housing over local residents. He then asked Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney to “admit that illegal immigration is crippling services in Glasgow.”
He said: “The Scottish National Party’s open-door policy to asylum is a sham. Even Susan Aitken, the SNP leader of Glasgow City Council, says that the number of asylum seekers is “unsustainable.”
“Peter Smith’s ITV report highlighted the farce of illegal migrants being prioritised for housing over legal migrants and Scots. Is it time that the First Minister was honest with the people and admitted that illegal immigration is crippling services in Glasgow?”
In the ITV report that Gulhane referred to, Glasgow City Council Leader Susan Aitken emphasised that while the council wants to continue welcoming refugees, she claimed the situation is becoming “unsustainable” without increased support from the UK Government, and that this may force Glasgow to reconsider its welcoming stance.
She told ITV: “[What] we’re looking at is around a £90 million budget gap for Glasgow, and about £66 million of that is homelessness overspend.”
Aitken attributed this mainly to “the pressure of processing a large number of refugees already in the city, compounded by people relocating from other parts of the UK.”
She added: “We want to be able to continue welcoming refugees. What we’re seeing is, if the UK government doesn’t step up to its responsibilities and help us meet our responsibilities, then that is going to become unsustainable. And it is already fast becoming unsustainable.”
Swinney described Gulhane’s comments as unhelpful, emphasisng his commitment to maintaining cohesion and unity across Scotland on such matters. He attributed the pressures Glasgow is facing to shortcomings in the UK Government’s Home Office approach.
Scotland’s First Minister, John Swinney responded to Gulhane: “I have set out my concern about where the debate on migration is going. I honestly do not think that Sandesh Gulhane’s contribution helps us one bit in trying to ensure that our country remains cohesive and united, as it has always been on those questions.
“The issues that the city of Glasgow faces are fundamentally because of the inadequacy of the approach of the United Kingdom Home Office—Councillor Aitken made that point clearly.
“That is where there needs to be a realisation of the implications of those issues, and I encourage the Home Office to engage with Glasgow City Council on those particular questions.
“I make it absolutely clear to anyone who is listening that I think that Scotland is a welcoming country. Under my leadership, it will remain a welcoming country, and that is something that we as a country should be proud of.”
