SCOTLAND'S biggest city has declared a housing emergency as the council expects an increase in homelessness cases.
Members of Glasgow City Council’s City Administration Committee voted for the declaration on Thursday following the decision of the UK Government to streamline its asylum process.
The Home Office is expected to make 2500 decisions on asylum seekers in Glasgow by the end of the year.
After a positive decision, residents are given 28 days to vacate the housing they were in as asylum seekers and many resort to seeking help from the local authority.
Since the streamlining came into effect in June, there has been a stark increase in the number of homelessness referrals of former asylum seekers by the Mears Group, which initially provides them with housing.
Since August – the first full month where applications for homelessness support could be made for those who received their decisions in June – there have been 575 applications, compared to the 425 between that point and the beginning of the year.
Allan Casey, the city’s convener for workforce, homelessness and addiction services, said: “There is no doubt that the pressures we are facing constitute an emergency.
“We agree with partners that we urgently need resources to help us deal with these added pressures.
“We also need the UK Government to pause their unconscionable asylum-batching decision, which is already increasing homelessness and destitution, until they work with us to put a proper plan in place and commit to fully funding their decision.
“As our report outlines, referrals from Mears, the company which currently provides accommodation for those awaiting asylum decisions here in Glasgow, have doubled in recent months.
“The city is experiencing an overwhelming increase in people presenting as rough sleepers as well as a significant rise in individuals, from elsewhere in the UK, seeking assistance here in Glasgow.”
A UK Government spokeswoman said: “We are committed to ensuring asylum claims are considered without unnecessary delays.
“Once someone is informed that their asylum claim has been granted, they get at least 28 days’ notice to move on from their asylum accommodation.
“Support is offered to newly recognised refugees by Migrant Help and their partners, which includes advice on how to access Universal Credit, the labour market and where to get assistance with housing.
“We are working with local authorities to help communities manage the impact of asylum decisions as the legacy backlog reduces.”
The decision by Glasgow councillors comes after MSPs rejected a Scottish Labour push to declare a housing emergency across the country earlier this month.
A motion at Holyrood was defeated by 63 votes to 51.
Edinburgh City Council and Argyll and Bute Council have already declared a housing emergency.
On Thursday, councillors in Edinburgh published a draft action plan with 25 proposals for alleviating the issue the city faces, including working more quickly to make void homes ready for occupancy and buying “off the shelf” homes for use.
If approved by councillors at a meeting on Tuesday, more detailed proposals will be put before the local authority in February.
Meanwhile, Argyll and Bute Council held an emergency summit this week, which was attended by more than 90 partner organisations, where a commitment was made to increase the number of homes, including affordable ones, in the council area.
The authority will publish its own action plan early in the new year.
