News

Glasgow Council has won its battle with the Scottish executive and the government for extra funding to meet the added costs of supporting asylum seekers.

The council had warned the executive and Home Office it would have to cut services because of the impact on its finances of providing education, social work, interpreter and transport services for its 2,000 asylum seekers.

But, after months of talks, the executive and government have agreed to meet these extra costs, allowing the council to extend its National Asylum Support Service housing contract for a further 15 months. More talks are planned to take the agreement beyond July 2006.


Under the Nass contract, Glasgow will receive nearly £25m for accommodating asylum seekers in 200 housing units over the 15 months. This will cover council tax, utilities, interpreters and project staff.

Glasgow is the only council in Scotland to accept asylum seekers under the Nass dispersal scheme, and has housed more than 12,000 over the past five years.