EXCLUSIVE: The huge number of applications from south of the border has prompted SNP council leader to call for action from the UK and Scottish Governments.
Glasgow is facing a surge in homeless applications.(Image: Getty Images )
Glasgow is at “crisis point” after the council received over 7,500 homeless applications from outside the city.
Nearly 75% of the bids came from people in other parts of the UK, including refugees and British-born citizens from south of the border.
SNP council leader Susan Aitken has now urged the Scottish and UK Governments to intervene in the city housing emergency.
Glasgow council is facing a £66m black hole after a surge in demand for temporary accommodation for the homeless.
SNP chiefs believe the Home Office policy of emptying asylum seeker hotels is largely to blame as they claim it has created a refugee homelessness crisis.
But Scotland’s liberal homelessness laws are also under scrutiny for their impact on Glasgow.
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Refugees have the right to apply for homeless assistance in Scotland even if they have been granted leave to remain in England.
The SNP Government also changed the rules so that people who are homeless in one part of Scotland can apply for help in another council area.
Local authorities in England house people in ‘priority need’, but Scottish rules cover anyone who is unintentionally homeless, including single men.
Figures obtained by the Record reveal Glasgow council received 7,574 homeless applications from outside the city between April 2023 and September this year.
The bulk of these applications, 5,620, were from other parts of the UK outside Scotland.
Greater London was the area responsible for the highest number of applications to Glasgow – 418.
Belfast was second at 304 while 177 homeless applications to Glasgow came from Birmingham.
Aitken said: “Home Office policy is driving a homelessness crisis amongst refugees in cities and towns across Britain, not just in Glasgow.
“However, Scotland’s more robust approach to supporting homeless people means that something that has led to a spike in rough sleeping in cities down south translates into unsustainable financial pressure on frontline services in Glasgow. Both are unacceptable and require urgent intervention.
“In the short term, the UK Government has to revisit policies and procedures that make new refugees homeless almost immediately after receiving leave to remain – and direct resources towards the cities and towns that have been dealing with the consequences.
“The Scottish Government could also direct resources available to address homelessness to Glasgow and other areas under the greatest pressure.”
Susan Aitken. Pic by Victoria Stewart, Reach Plc Staff
“In the medium term, the UK Government could do more to work with communities to strengthen homelessness services elsewhere in the UK – and properly implement its own policy of dispersing asylum seekers still awaiting a decision more evenly across the country.
“In the longer term, both of our governments need to invest in housebuilding and acquisitions in communities, like Glasgow, with the greatest demand and the greatest opportunity.
“Glasgow already has the most successful affordable house-building programme in the UK and, with more funding, we could build even more homes for everyone who needs them.”
Labour MSP Mark Griffin blamed the SNP Government: “Glasgow is at crisis point as a result of the SNP’s failure to deal with the housing emergency.
“The system is completely overwhelmed and thousands of kids are stuck in temporary accommodation for months and years on end as a result.
“The status quo is not working for Glasgow – the SNP needs to deliver fair funding for local government and take real action to tackle the national housing emergency.”
Tory MSP Annie Wells said: “This is the predictable consequence of the SNP’s decision to abandon the local connection rules that apply elsewhere in the UK.
“Glasgow already had a housing emergency, and this reckless policy has exacerbated it by making the city a magnet for illegal migrants from across the UK. The Nats should admit they got this badly wrong and reinstate the rules prioritising those with connections to Glasgow.”
SNP Housing Secretary Màiri McAllan said: “Successive UK Governments’ mismanagement of the asylum system is creating serious pressures for local authorities, especially Glasgow. The UK Government must urgently provide more financial assistance to enable local authorities to provide safety and sanctuary for people seeking asylum and ensure their appropriate integration into communities. I have written to the new Secretary of State for the Home Office to make clear that this must be a priority.”
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