Up to 300 asylum seekers to be evicted from their homes in Glasgow

Serco – a company that provides accommodation to refugees – are to trigger a programme codenamed “Move-on”, which will target up to 300 asylum seekers in Glasgow

Hundreds of asylum seekers in Glasgow will be made homeless after Serco – a company that provides accommodation to asylum seekers – are to trigger a programme codenamed “Move-on”, which will see refugees locked out of their homes.

Documents passed to the Sunday Mail reveal that the programme will target up to 300 people who have had their applications for refugee status rejected by the Home Office. An initial “six lock charges” will be issued on Monday, with action to be carried out seven days later. Additional orders will then be issued on a rolling basis. This gives residents one week of eviction notice when they have nowhere else to go.

Glasgow politicians, including the City Council, have expressed concern and outrage at Serco’s decision. A cross-party letter has been sent to Home Secretary Sajid Javid: “As members of Glasgow City Council and Parliament, we are co-signing this letter to express our deep concern at the imminent eviction by Serco of potentially hundreds of asylum seekers currently housed in the city.”

The letter goes on to express the view that Serco’s action will “trigger a humanitarian crisis in Glasgow” and that they were not sufficiently or meaningfully informed of the decision to lock refugees out of their homes.

The refugee homelessness charity Positive Action in Housing state that those threatened with eviction include men, women and children who have fled conflict in Syria, Eritrea, Afghanistan and Iraq. The charity have been told by several distraught residents that they have considered committing suicide.

How we can help

The charity Positive Action in Housing have launched an emergency appeal, listing many ways that ordinary people can help.

You can donate to Scotland Welcomes Refugees here, with £5,765 currently raised against a £25,000 target. 100% of all donations will go directly to providing emergency support grants to help refugees and asylum seekers rebuild their lives in Scotland.

If you have a spare room, you can also offer a spare room via Room for Refugees.

A protest is also to be held at Buchanan Street between 6pm and 8pm tomorrow, Tuesday 31 July.