Glasgow City Council is set to receive additional funding from the Scottish Government to manage an increase in migrants, a situation that has raised concerns about community cohesion and strained council resources. Council leader Susan Aitken has described the escalating costs of housing refugees as an "untenable threat" to Glasgow, Scotland's largest city.
The Scottish Government has committed to making a "meaningful contribution" toward resolving the crisis, following discussions with the council. However, the precise amount of this new funding has not yet been disclosed, and the council is not expected to receive the funds until after the Scottish Budget is announced later this year.
Glasgow City Council has been struggling with the rising expenses associated with providing accommodation and support for refugees. Homelessness costs in the city are projected to reach £75 million next year. The city has also experienced several protests linked to tensions surrounding immigration and asylum.
Both the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council have attributed these pressures to policies enacted by the UK government. They argue that changes to the asylum system have resulted in a growing number of refugees, who have been granted leave to remain in the UK, becoming homeless and falling under the responsibility of local councils.
Glasgow has historically housed a disproportionate number of asylum seekers in Scotland. Official figures from the end of March indicated that 3,489 asylum seekers were residing in dispersed accommodation in Glasgow, significantly more than in Edinburgh (49) or Dundee (38). This equates to 57.3 asylum seekers per 10,000 people in Glasgow, compared to 2.6 in Edinburgh and 2.5 in Dundee. Several other council areas in Scotland reported no asylum seekers in dispersed accommodation.
Ms. Aitken has stated that the situation is placing additional strain on limited housing resources and costing the council tens of millions of pounds for emergency accommodation. She criticized Home Office decisions for creating a nationwide homelessness crisis among refugees newly granted leave to remain, noting that the council had received no substantial response from UK ministers.
Shirley-Anne Somerville, Scotland's Social Justice and Housing Secretary, echoed these sentiments, blaming the Home Office for "mismanagement of asylum policy." While acknowledging that councils retain legal responsibility for homelessness, she noted that the Scottish Government has provided £123 million to Glasgow through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme this year, including £302,000 specifically for refugee resettlement. Funding for the 2027-28 period will be determined through the upcoming Scottish Budget.
Makeshift accommodation has been utilized, and the UK government has stated its commitment to transitioning refugees from asylum accommodation and mitigating homelessness risks, including extending grace periods from 28 to 42 days. The UK government is also working to house asylum seekers across the country and engaging with local authorities to lessen community impact, with plans to move asylum seekers out of hotels and into alternative accommodations, such as former military sites.
Meanwhile, Glasgow City Council faces a potential budget shortfall exceeding £111 million for the upcoming year. The effectiveness of Scotland's homelessness laws, particularly after the removal of the 'priority need' test which expanded access to assistance, has also been questioned amid these challenges. The latest funding announcement arrives as Glasgow grapples with increasing political scrutiny over its capacity to manage the financial and social consequences of refugee homelessness.