THE UK Government must stop sending asylum seekers to Scotland’s largest city, the local council has said.
Glasgow City Council has said the Home Office must pause dispersals to the city, which takes in by far the greatest number of asylum seekers anywhere in Scotland.
It is one of the most significant asylum “dispersal centres” in the UK as a whole and leaders have warned the cash-strapped council cannot cope with the financial pressure.
An investigation by The Herald has revealed that the costs of supporting asylum seekers in Glasgow are ballooning from an estimated £26.5 million in 2024/25 to a projected £79m in 2027/28.
Despite UK Government plans to have asylum seekers spread more evenly across the country, it has also emerged that of 360 British regions, one in six were not housing any asylum seekers as of the end of last year.
With 67 asylum seekers per 10,000 people in the city, Glasgow is the UK’s biggest city for asylum seekers outside of London per head.
A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council said: “We’ve been trying to ask the Home Office for a pause in dispersal so that we can work through the backlog of cases. We’ve written on several occasions saying this. And we haven’t had a response to our most recent letter asking for a meeting.”
The council has made attempts to address the issue, with Glasgow’s homelessness convener Allan Casey requesting a meeting with Home Office minister Angela Eagle (below). Her trip was cancelled at the last minute and has not been rescheduled.
Meeting papers for the Glasgow City Integration Joint Board state that homelessness services are coming under pressure owing to “a significant increase in positive leave-to-remain decisions for asylum seekers”.
Increased demand “as a result of the streamlined asylum process” means “it is likely that [the council] will be unable to offer temporary accommodation on first request for all households”, according to the papers.
A UK Government spokesperson told The Herald: “Despite inheriting huge pressures on the asylum system, we are working to make sure individuals have the support they need following an asylum decision to help local authorities better plan their assistance with homelessness.
“We are working right across the UK to give councils as much notice as possible of newly recognised refugees, have doubled the move on period to 56 days and have mobilised liaison officers to support asylum seekers in Glasgow City Council area.”
