Glasgow City council declares ‘housing emergency’ due to homelessness pressures

Glasgow has declared a “housing emergency” amid mounting pressures on homelessness services.

The council’s city administration committee agreed the move on Thursday, with the local authority saying “unprecedented pressures” had “forced its hand”.

Earlier this month Edinburgh City Council was the first Scottish city to declare a housing emergency.

Argyll and Bute Council previously declared an emergency in June.

It also comes as figures are released that show the number of households and children in temporary accommodation in England has hit “shameful” record highs, with nearly 139,000 children living without a permanent home.

Glasgow City Council currently has around 6,000 open homelessness cases.

Meanwhile, the number of homeless refugees has doubled after the UK government implemented a streamlined asylum process in June to address the significant backlog of decisions and reduce the number of applicants in contingency and dispersed accommodation.

Since the decision, a council report showed the number of single people and families being granted leave to remain in Glasgow rose from 65 in June to 176 in October.

Between 1 and 21 November, a further 97 single people and 35 family referrals (132 total) were made by Mears for households in the city for those granted asylum.

Glasgow’s declaration comes on the heels of the Home Office’s plan to make around 2,500 batched asylum decisions in the city by the end of the year, which the council said could cost the local authority £53.4m.

Read more from Sky News:
Asylum backlog in UK hits record high
Huge rise in refugees sleeping rough

The move was recommended in a report by councillor Allan Casey, city convenor for workforce, homelessness and addiction services.

Cllr Casey said: “There is no doubt that the pressures we are facing constitute an emergency.

“We agree with partners that we urgently need resources to help us deal with these added pressures.

“We also need the UK government to pause their unconscionable asylum-batching decision, which is already increasing homelessness and destitution, until they work with us to put a proper plan in place and commit to fully funding their decision.

“The city is experiencing an overwhelming increase in people presenting as rough sleepers as well as a significant rise in individuals, from elsewhere in the UK, seeking assistance here in Glasgow.”

The council said it will continue to lobby both Holyrood and Westminster for “appropriate funding and legislative change” to respond to the emergency.

A UK government spokesperson said: “We are committed to ensuring asylum claims are considered without unnecessary delays.

“Once someone is informed that their asylum claim has been granted, they get at least 28 days’ notice to move on from their asylum accommodation.

“Support is offered to newly recognised refugees by Migrant Help and their partners, which includes advice on how to access Universal Credit, the labour market and where to get assistance with housing.

“We are working with local authorities to help communities manage the impact of asylum decisions as the legacy backlog reduces.”