UKBA decision on Glasgow asylum housing short sighted and disruptive

Glasgow Liberal Democrat MSP Robert Brown and Liberal Democrat Leader on Glasgow City Council, Paul Coleshill, have condemned the UK Border Agency for terminating its contract with Glasgow City Council to house asylum seekers in the city.

There are currently just under 1,300 people seeking asylum who are accommodated in Glasgow and will now have to move to another provider.

Robert Brown said:

"This is a very bad decision.

"It is clearly disruptive, unsympathetic, bureaucratic and short sighted.

"We are dealing with frightened and vulnerable people and families who have escaped the most appalling persecution in other countries.

"These people are seeking the traditional right of sanctuary in the UK and we have a duty to treat them with the respect and dignity they deserve.

"It is quite unacceptable that people will be told that they have got a few days to pack their bags, abandon their homes and be moved to other parts of the country.

"We’ve taken the issue up with the Immigration Minister Damien Green and the UKBA.

"I hope the minister will be prepared to intervene urgently to reinstate the Glasgow arrangement, pending wider discussions."

Paul Coleshill, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Glasgow City Council said:

"In Glasgow, there is a highly effective network of community links, expertise and support for these people, with groups such as churches, mosques and other voluntary organisations.

"There is no guarantee that these links will be in place elsewhere in the country.

"In addition, many asylum seekers in Glasgow derive support from people and groups in the city who share the same nationality.

"There also seems to be no account taken of the fact that these changes will disrupt schooling for young children who will be snatched away from the society of their friends, and even worse, for older children who will be sitting exams."