Time to end profiteering from unsafe accommodation
Scotland should be given powers to improve accommodation for people seeking asylum, say the Scottish Greens.
With immigration controls resting with Westminster, accommodation for people seeking asylum is provided by private companies under contract to the UK Home Office. Housing is devolved to the Scottish Parliament, but the housing of those seeking asylum is not.
This week, one such provider, Mears, which is paid to provide housing for people seeking asylum in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK, was forced to hand back almost £14 million in profits it made beyond those allowed in its contract to the Home Office.
Accommodation by Mears and other providers has attracted criticism for its quality and safety. A Mears-run housing unit in Glasgow was forced to close in 2022 after criticism by the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland that the “cramped and unsafe” accommodation breached their human rights.
Scottish Greens human rights spokesperson Maggie Chapman MSP said:
“People who come to our country to escape from war, persecution and disasters should be accommodated in dignity, safety and comfort.
“Yet the UK Government allows companies to rake in millions in profits from providing accommodation that breaches their human rights.
“Today is International Migrants Day, but only this week we’ve seen one provider forced to hand-back excessive profits it is making from what is often extremely poor accommodation. Companies like Mears are profiting from other people’s misery.
“As we have seen from the counter-protests across Scotland that have been standing up to far right scaremongering in recent months, the overwhelming majority of Scots want refugees and asylum seekers to be part of their communities, but want them to be housed in dignity and safety.
“If we had the powers to do so, Scotland could kick the profiteers out and ensure that the public and charity sectors could provide safe, warm and dignified accommodation for those who have come here seeking safety.
“The Scottish Government should make this request to the UK Government immediately, so we can provide safe homes for those seeking sanctuary in our communities, just as they already have a home in the hearts of many Scots.”