Glasgow City Council Faces Budget Crisis Due to Asylum Seekers

Strategic Insights -

Glasgow City Council, led by the SNP, is facing a budget crisis due to the large number of asylum seekers being sent to the city, resulting in overspending on homelessness. The council has warned that unless there is a pause in asylum seekers being sent to the city, spending on homelessness will soar to almost £110 million over budget within two years. The report highlights that almost half of the homelessness applications by refugees in the city are now made by people granted leave to remain in other parts of the UK.

Key Takeaways:

  • Glasgow City Council is facing a budget crisis due to the large number of asylum seekers being sent to the city, resulting in overspending on homelessness, with a projected overspend of £27 million in 2024-25, rising to £43 million in 2025-26 and £66 million in 2026-27.
  • Almost half of the homelessness applications by refugees in the city are now made by people granted leave to remaining in other parts of the UK, with 694 applications in 2023-24 and 1,050 applications in 2023-24.
  • Glasgow City Council has provided temporary digs to 2,127 households granted leave to remain elsewhere, at a cost of £40.2 million since 2022.
  • The UK Government has been warned that it must "step in and support councils on the frontline of this emergency" as council leader Susan Aitken calls for support from Whitehall to be "transformed".
  • A pause in dispersal to Glasgow and the requirement to house applicants from outwith Scotland could reduce estimated costs to £36 million in 2025-26 and £13 million in 2026-27.

Statistics:

  • 4,500 asylum seekers in privately run accommodation in Glasgow while their claims are processed.
  • 694 homelessness applications from new refugees granted leave to remain in Glasgow in 2023-24, rising to 1,050 in 2023-24.
  • 2,127 households granted leave to remain elsewhere provided with temporary digs in Glasgow, at a cost of £40.2 million since 2022.
  • £27 million overspend on homelessness in 2024-25, rising to £43 million in 2025-26 and £66 million in 2026-27.
  • 56 days for a claim to be granted and a person to be allowed to stay in the UK before finding own accommodation or presenting as homeless to local council.

Sources:

  • Glasgow City Council report
  • The Herald newspaper
  • Home Office officials
  • UK Government
  • Scottish Conservatives
  • Annie Wells, Glasgow Tory MSP