Asylum seekers / refugees
Asylum seeker hotel accommodation during pandemic 'most inhumane' ever witnessed
Positive Action in Housing (PAIH) has described the use of hotels as asylum accommodation under the Home Office/Mears contract as the "most inhumane" it has ever witnessed.
Published 26 February 2021
City of Edinburgh Council ruled to have breached duties towards homeless refugee
A judge in the Outer House of the Court of Session has found that a local authority acted unlawfully in failing to provide assistance to a homeless Sudanese refugee living in Scotland.
Published 23 February 2021
Court of Session clarifies the law on fresh homeless applications
In a petition for judicial review of the City of Edinburgh Council’s decision to refuse a fresh homeless application, the Court of Session has held that the council acted unlawfully.
Published 23 February 2021
Jon Sparkes: Ending homelessness across Scotland is possible but only by helping those seeking asylum in this country too
Addressing the issue of homelessness amongst migrant groups across Scotland is crucial for ending homelessness across the country, writes Jon Sparkes.
Published 19 October 2020
Glasgow councillors oppose 'dangerous' Home Office asylum plans
Home Office plans to withdraw accommodation and support from hundreds of asylum seekers in Glasgow are "dangerous" and "unconscionable", two Glasgow councillors have warned in a letter to home secretary Priti Patel.
Published 13 October 2020
Positive Action in Housing 'disturbed' at UK Government's 'out of sight, out of mind' plan for asylum seekers
Home secretary Priti Patel allegedly ordered civil servants to consider processing asylum seekers on remote islands more than 4,000 miles from Britain, according to reports.
Published 1 October 2020
Third tragedy hits Glasgow refugee community
Positive Action in Housing has reiterated its demand for a full independent inquiry into the accommodation provided to asylum seekers in Glasgow during lockdown after a mother was found dead on Saturday.
Published 25 August 2020
Mears may house asylum seekers in Glasgow hotels ‘until end of year’
Hotels are likely to still be used for emergency accommodation for asylum seekers in Glasgow for at least another four months, according to reports.
Published 18 August 2020
Everyone Home unveils ‘triple-lock’ of homelessness mitigation measures in second Route Map
The Everyone Home Collective of influential charity and academic sector organisations working to end homelessness will start consulting from Monday on the second in a series of Route Maps designed to permanently end rough sleeping and destitution in Scotland as the country emerges from the pandemic.
Published 11 August 2020
Scottish Greens call for asylum housing to be taken out of private hands
Scottish Greens councillor Kim Long has launched a new campaign for asylum seeker housing to be operated by the local authority and the third sector.
Published 15 July 2020
Cycling Scotland supports Glasgow's homeless during lockdown
Cycling Scotland staff have been getting on their bikes in lockdown to support homeless people in Glasgow.
Published 14 July 2020
Scottish Tech Army helps asylum seekers in Govan get online
Charities across Scotland are getting a digital boost during lockdown from a motivated team of hi-tech volunteers called the Scottish Tech Army.
Published 10 July 2020
The Margaret Taylor Interview: Lorna Walker - Park Inn tragedy highlights the need for asylum seeker justice
When news broke in June that a Sudanese asylum seeker had been shot dead after stabbing six people in a Glasgow hotel there was an immediate public outcry. How, people wanted to know, could a system that is supposed to protect the vulnerable have allowed a man with obvious mental health difficulties to be put in a situation where his problems were sure to escalate.
Published 9 July 2020
Glasgow issues temporary pause on asylum seekers as humanitarian concerns deepen
No more asylum seekers will be sent to Glasgow as the local authority attempts to “ease the pressures” on the city after last month’s knife attack and mounting concerns about living conditions for people in hotels during lockdown
Published 7 July 2020
Sabir Zazai: Stop treating people like pieces on a chessboard
Scottish Refugee Council CEO Sabir Zazai reveals anger over ‘abject failures’ of the Home Office and discusses how hostile asylum policies are out of touch with Scottish public opinion.
Published 7 July 2020
