BM Scotland: Taking a Look at Falkirk and the Housing of Migrants in Hotels in Scotland.
While all the mainstream media focus is on protests outside hotels full of 'asylum seekers' in England, it is worth noting that Scotland is not immune to the sly housing of migrants in local hotels without warning local people.
It is not just Afghans being settled in Scotland, remember a few years back when Nicola Sturgeon was First Minister, she made a big show of welcoming Syrians to settle in Scotland.
Last year the report below appeared in several Scottish news outlets.
A refugee charity has said hotels should never be used to house asylum seekers, warning it leaves vulnerable people isolated and at risk of being targeted by the far-right.
Hotels housing asylum seekers were subject to protests and violence this summer,(2024) as far-right protesters took to the streets for days of rioting. This was met with counter-protests by anti-racism groups and swift prosecutions through the courts.
Home Office figures show the number of asylum seekers housed in hotels has dropped 41% across the UK, from 50,500 in June 2023 to 29,600 at the same point in 2024.
It is not just the better known example of the hotel at Erskine which attracted protests about 18 months ago.
FALKIRK.
Recent anti-migrant protests in Falkirk this summer are just the tip of an iceberg
The Falkirk Herald has been reporting on the situation over the last couple of years
Last year the Herald note that:
"More asylum seekers were being housed in hotels in Falkirk this summer than a year earlier."
The figures further show 79 asylum seekers were being housed in hotels in Falkirk in June (2024) – up from 33 a year earlier.
Imran Hussain, executive director of external affairs at the Refugee Council, said: "Despite some progress on reducing the use of hotels, there were still nearly 30,000 people seeking asylum living in hotels at the end of June.
"Hotels should never be used as accommodation, as people in asylum hotels are isolated, struggle with their mental health, and may be targeted by far-right attacks, as we saw a few weeks ago."
In total, 89 asylum seekers were receiving a form of government support in Falkirk as of June (2024). This was up from 33 in June 2023.
The national backlog of asylum applicants has remained steady since last quarter, even if it has dropped compared to a year earlier.
The figures come amid calls to allow asylum seekers to work while their applications are being processed.
The Lift the Ban coalition, made up of think tanks, faith groups and refugee organisations among others, described the policy as "regressive, hostile and self-defeating".
Tim Naor Hilton, chief executive of Refugee Action – and part of the coalition – said: "The new Government could improve people’s lives, increase community cohesion and give a huge boost to local economies by giving people seeking asylum the right to work."
The reports below are from last year and nothing has changed in Falkirk, in fact even more migrants have quietly been housed in the town.
"Campaigners want to move asylum seekers out of Falkirk hotels"
"An asylum seeker who has been living in the Cladhan Hotel for more than six months says it is “worse than prison” because no-one knows when they will finally be given proper accommodation.
Isaias, from Eritrea, spoke out as campaigners called for an end to the “damaging and inhumane use of hotels and other forms of institutional accommodation for asylum seekers across Scotland”.
Falkirk is now understood to house more than 100 asylum seekers, although this has not been officially confirmed.
Isaias was taken to the former hotel on Kemper Avenue along with 50 other asylum seekers from various countries last November – but massive delays to processing asylum claims mean that there is no end in sight.
Isaias is seeking asylum in the UK but has now been waiting months in hotel accommodation
He and his fellow asylum seekers are given £8 a week, which means charities have to give them clothes and organise things like hair cuts.
All meals are provided by the hotel and the men have no kitchen facilities.
He said: “We have a bank card but you can’t take £8 out of the bank – you have to wait a week so you can take £10 out then another week until there is another £10.”
While they are not prevented from travelling, it is not just the lack of cash that stops them.
Isaias says they are unable to go anywhere in case they are suddenly called to leave as their claims is processed.
It is this uncertainty that he is finding so frustrating and leads to many asylum seekers suffering depression and anxiety.
“If you go to jail, you know you will be there for one year, two – however many. We don’t know how long we’ll be here. No-one can tell us anything,” he said.
Many of those in the hotel have fled political persecution in Eritrea – widely criticised as being one of the most repressive regimes in the world – but their claims for asylum have still not been heard after months in Belfast and now in Falkirk.
Falkirk Council’s chief executive and council leader both condemned the move when 50 asylum seekers were brought at very short notice to stay in the former hotel.
Six months on, most of the asylum seekers are still there and another 60 are understood to have been put in the Metro Falkirk Hotel at Beancross.
The Roof Coalition represents over a dozen housing, legal, community and human rights groups and organisations who want to see “safe and dignified housing for people seeking asylum”.
Launching their campaign, Savan Qadir, of Refugees for Justice, said: “ Despite all the evidence of harm, the Home Office and its private contractors continue to practise this inhumane and harmful practice in Scotland without consent from Scottish local authorities.
“We demand the Home Office and their private agent contractors to put an end to hotel detention and start treating asylum seekers and refugees as human beings, accommodating them in safe community-based housing where they belong.
“Despite all the promises from the Mears Group that they have made to reduce the use of hotel, what we see is the total opposite of these promises and Mears group keep putting more and more people in the hotels as we see Mears now putting people in other council areas all around Scotland including Falkirk, Perth, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, East Kilbride and soon other areas. Quite Frankly this is not what reducing use of hotels looks like as Mears Group is claiming.”
Councillor Cecil Meiklejohn, leader of Falkirk Council said: “We do not believe that hotel accommodation is appropriate for asylum seekers and will continue to work with the Home Office to ensure that they are moved on to more suitable accommodation as quickly as possible.
However, it must be recognised that there are delays in the system, which are outwith the local authority’s control. We will therefore continue to do our best to ensure that the asylum seekers are safe and well throughout their stay in the area.”
But the Mears Group – the private company looking after asylum seekers for the Home Office – say it is doing “all in its power to end hotel use”.
A spokesperson for the Mears Group said: “Due to the rise in the number of people in the UK asylum system, and the need for the Home Office to secure accommodation for those people just arrived into the UK, Mears is currently providing additional contingency accommodation in hotels in Falkirk as well as Aberdeen, East Kilbride, Edinburgh and Perth. This is in common with the approach across the UK where hotels are currently needed as a contingency.
“Supporting the welfare of service users is of the utmost importance to Mears. We have been working closely and positively with local authorities and with other partners, including health and welfare teams and NGOs to provide support. There are on-site Resident Welfare Managers at hotels to assist with any issues. Service users are provided with their own room, all meals and snacks, access to health and welfare support, and other provisions, including social and leisure activities.
“The use of hotels is a contingency measure to meet the current need for suitable accommodation. Mears will continue to do all in its power to end hotel use. To do this we’re working closely with local authorities to source suitable new accommodation and ensure that our service users are found a home in the community.”
NOTHING HAS CHANGED OVER THE LAST TWELVE MONTHS!
Note all the different towns and cities in Scotland that are listed in addition to Falkirk, and that does not include earlier locations over the past couple of years including hotels in central Glasgow.
Coming to a hotel somewhere near you - anytime soon. The Great Replacement is NOT a Conspiracy Theory
- It is Happening!
