Can Glasgow afford to continue welcoming refugees? | ITV News

The majority of all asylum seekers and refugees in Scotland are in Glasgow.

For decades, its people and politicians have proudly promoted it as a sanctuary city that welcomes everyone, no matter where they come from.

But that conscience is now coming with a cost.

The historically pro-immigration council is now warning that the rising numbers and a lack of UK government support are placing extreme pressure on the city’s housing and homelessness services.

Glasgow has more asylum seekers than any other local authority in the UK. Once people are granted leave to remain and become refugees, they are no longer the responsibility of the Home Office but of the council.

Scotland has more generous homelessness laws than the rest of the UK, which means Glasgow has a responsibility to house every asylum seeker who becomes a refugee.

This pressure has pushed the city into a housing emergency.

More than half of those in temporary accommodation are now refugees.

Unprecedented numbers of new refugees are also now travelling from other cities to Glasgow – because they know it is their best hope for a home.

Qasim is an asylum seeker from Afghanistan. He came to the UK on a small boat earlier this year.

He has just been moved to another temporary home – this time to a two-bedroom flat which he will be sharing with three men he has never met.

There are no so-called asylum hotels in Glasgow, and instead, everyone is put into shared housing like this.

”I get moved around in Glasgow but as an asylum seeker I do get a home,” Qasim said.

“If I get refugee status, I am made homeless and then join a waiting list for permanent accommodation. There are so many refugees here now it takes a long time.

“I was two years old when the UK bombed my country and told us to help them fight the Taliban. My parents were killed. If I go back, they will kill me too. The legal routes to come here were all blocked. Going on a boat was a risk I had to take.”

If Qasim is allowed to stay, he will join the long list of those waiting for a home in Glasgow.

For decades, the city has proudly stated that “refugees are welcome here”, but the council leader told us this is now a message they may need to reconsider if they don’t get support from the Home Office.

“[What] we’re looking at is around a £90 million budget gap for Glasgow, and about £66 million of that is homelessness overspend,” Council Leader Susan Aitken said.

She says this has been directly created by the large number of homeless refugees.

She says it is due to “the pressure of the mass processing of people who are refugees already in the city and then exacerbated by people travelling from other parts of the UK”.

She describes it as “a perfect storm” and says the council is now at the point where it is struggling to say that refugees are welcome.

“That’s not because we don’t want to welcome refugees. We want to be able to continue welcoming refugees. What we’re seeing is, if the UK government doesn’t step up to its responsibilities and help us meet our responsibilities, then that is going to become unsustainable. And it is already fast becoming unsustainable.”

It’s not just in the city chambers where attitudes are visibly changing.

Scotland flags have begun appearing on lampposts across the city, concentrated in areas with large numbers of asylum seekers and refugees.

This is Scotland’s contribution to the Raise The Colours campaign seen in England – partly patriotic pride, partly an anti-immigration message to politicians.

Some of the people who live here told us the message behind the flags is not about racism but is intrinsically linked to their city’s housing crisis.

Ashley is a support worker. She lives in a top floor flat, meaning her disabled partner can’t move in with her and her daughters.

They’ve been waiting for years for suitable accommodation.

She is supportive of the flags but she wants to be clear: the anger is not towards the refugees but the politicians.

“I think they’ve made us resentful because the government has not really thought about it, they’ve just done it,” she said.

“In this area, everybody used to know everybody, but now nobody knows anybody because the government are just filling them with anybody and everybody. We don’t know these people. And it’s not because I am a racist. I love them all equally and I do understand that these people are fleeing from a difficult situation but at the same point we are in a crisis.”

This flags protest is spreading – with more being put up on new streets each night across Glasgow.

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Glasgow has the highest number of asylum seekers anywhere in the UK. My parents were killed. If I go back, they will kill me, too. Now, the council leader says it’s struggling to cope. It is already fast becoming unsustainable and some attitudes are changing in its communities. We have so many like foreign people in our area. Now, nobody knows anybody on the streets of Glasgow. We’ve never before seen the Scottish flag used in this way before. I’ve been meeting people around the city to find out what comes next. Cassim is from Afghanistan, but he arrived in the UK on a small boat earlier this year. Today, he’s just been moved into this flat in Glasgow. There are no asylum hotels in this city in what’s meant to be a show of compassion they’re put into shared housing like this instead. Looks like I’ll be sharing with three strangers, Casim says in this two-bedroom apartment. The problem is there just isn’t enough. This is a city that declared a housing emergency 2 years ago, and Glasgow is now by quite some distance host to the biggest population of asylum seekers in Britain. I get moved around in Glasgow, but as an asylum seeker, I do get a home. If I get refugee status, I am made homeless and then join a waiting list for a permanent accommodation. There are so many refugees here now. It takes a long time. There are people in this country who would say that you should not be given a home here because you came to the UK on a small boat. There are political leaders saying that you should be detained and deported back to Afghanistan. I just heard about that. Well, I was 2 years old when the UK bombed my country and told us to help them fight the Taliban. My parents were killed. If I go back, they will kill me, too. The legal routes to come here were all blocked. Going on a boat was a risk I had to take. Glasgow doesn’t have asylum hotels, but it has inadvertently created these refugee hosts. If Cassim is allowed to stay here, he’ll likely be moved to a place like this temporary accommodation that’s been filled up with the men, women, and families who have been processed and given a legal right to live and work here in the UK. This happened after the Home Office began speeding up decisions, giving refugee status to asylum seekers without giving them anywhere to live. Now unprecedented numbers of these new refugees are traveling from other cities to Glasgow because they know this city is their best hope for a home. Scotland has particularly liberal homeless legislation. Anyone asking for accommodation here is legally entitled to it, no matter their circumstances, no matter where they’ve come from. And that is not the case in other parts of the UK. But it has made Glasgow a magnet. And with the influx of so many people in such a short period of time, more than half of this city’s homeless accommodation is now being given to refugees. Almost all of the asylum seekers and refugees in Scotland are in Glasgow. Refugees are welcome here. That’s because for decades the people and politicians here proudly promoted this place as the nation’s only sanctuary city, a welcome home to all. But for the council, that conscience is now coming with a cost. What we’re looking at is around a 90 million pound budget gap uh for for Glasgow. Um and about 66 million pounds of that is homelessness overspend. Um so is that exacerbated by the pressure that’s been brought by refugees coming to Glasgow? It is. It is significantly created by that pressure um by by the pressure of um the mass processing of of people who are refugees already in the city and then exacerbated by people traveling from other parts of the UK. So it’s a it’s a bit of a perfect storm that we’ve got here. Glasgow has for years prided itself on being a sanctuary city, a dispersal city. Refugees are welcome here as things stand. Are you able to afford to continue to say refugees are welcome here? Um, you know, this is incredibly difficult to say. Uh, it it we are at the point where it we are getting to to having to say that. Now, that’s not because we don’t want to welcome refugees. Um, we want to to be able to continue welcoming refugees. What we’re saying is um if the UK government doesn’t step up to its responsibilities and help us meet our responsibilities, then that is going to become unsustainable. Um and it is it is already fast becoming unsustainable. Words once unthinkable from the leader of one of the most pro-reugee cities in Britain, but attitudes are visibly changing beyond the council chambers here. Anti-immigration protests have reached Scotland. Now Glasgow has its own version of a raise the colors campaign that’s been seen in England. Partly patriotic pride, partly an anti-immigration message to politicians. Glasgow’s always prided itself on the compassion shown to refugees coming here. But there are signs that is starting to wear thin now. On the streets of Glasgow, we’ve never before seen the Scottish flag used in this way before, connected to public displays of nationalism and patriotism that we’ve seen in England. people flying the colors. And as long as the numbers coming here continue to increase, it is testing whether Glasgow can continue as a sanctuary city. We saw this band of locals carrying their ladders down the main street. Flags fresh from the pack, putting their salt tires on lamp posts concentrated in areas with large numbers of asylum seekers. What is it that makes you want to come out and do this? It’s just patriotism, isn’t it? These men did not want to do an interview, but others here told us these flags are intrinsically connected to their city’s housing crisis. I’m glad that people are doing it because I want people to start paying attention. Ashley, a support worker, lives in a top floor flat here, meaning her disabled partner cannot move in with her and her daughters. They’ve been waiting years for suitable accommodation. People have been too scared to stand up for like oursel because they’re seen as being racist. And this is not the case. It is not the case at all. It’s nothing to do with that. It’s just solely about like like us being able to get like help, support, housing, this the basic stuff that we need. But Ashley wants to be clear. The anger is not toward the refugees, but the politicians. We should be appropriately housed. you know, it’s there’s no reason for it in this day and age, but since in the last I would say 5 years mainly, we have so many like foreign people in our area like massively. You would never have regarded yourself as a a racist or xenophobic. Do you think that you and people in this area are now, you know, part of this flag campaign is showing that you are resentful towards the number of refugees that are coming into your area? I think they’ve made us resentful because they’ve not see the the the government I would say that they’ve not really they’ve just done it. They’ve not even cracked a light about it. They’ve not been honest about it and they’ve just did it. And the thing is like these areas like everybody kind of knows everybody. But now nobody knows anybody because the government are just filling them with anybody and everybody and we don’t know these people. And it’s not because I’m not racist. I’ve grew up with all types of people. Muslim, sik, you name it. You know, all different types of walks of life. And do you know what? I love them all equally. And I do deserve and understand that these people are fleeing from like a difficult situation and a like a hard hard country. But at the same point, we’ve got our own issues going on. This flags protest is spreading though. Abdul runs a charity that helps refugees and asylum seekers in Glasgow. He says there are clear concerns the housing crisis is being used to stoke tensions. I would say this is a small elements of people unfortunately like being brainwashed that asylum seekers are responsible for everything wrong in our society which is not true. These people are asylum seekers and refugees the vast majority of them are very vulnerable people. They need our support. They need our love. We need to welcome them. I mean they don’t need our hate. The these people have come over horrific horrific stories, horrific situations in their lives. Like I mean they’re very very vulnerable. They need our support not our hate. Cassim is among the thousands coming here each year now seeking safety and a future. But when he looks out, he sees these flags lining the streets in his new city, where conscience is in conflict with capacity. Peter Smith, ITV News, Glasgow.