Glasgow homeless applications rise as city taking almost all asylum seekers in Scotland

Advice has been issued for homeless people in Glasgow during Storm Eowyn
-Credit:Daily Record


Homelessness applications in Glasgow have risen by almost 20%, a new report has revealed - while the city houses 95% of Scotland’s asylum seekers.

While the city continues to wrestle the housing crisis, a document presented to the IJB (Integrated Joint Board) revealed that during 2024/25 there were a total of 6199 homelessness applications made, an increase of 17.2% compared to the previous year, and should this trend continue the number of applications would rise to 9050.

To manage this increased demand, Homelessness Services have rapidly increased the use of temporary accommodation, including an unprecedented increase in the use of bed and breakfast and hotel accommodation.

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The report highlighted how there has been an 88% increase in the number of households in bed and breakfast/hotel accommodation between November 2023 and November 2024.

There has also been a 90% increase in the number of hotels being used with 20 hotels used in November 2023 before rising to 38 in November 2024.

Data, provided by the Home Office, indicates that 95% of asylum seekers in Scotland are currently being accommodated within Glasgow with 4103 currently being accommodated.

During the meeting Frances McMeeking, Assistant Chief Officer, Operational Care Services and Homelessness, said: “I need to make clear that the situation in Glasgow is unique in that we are currently accommodating through home office accommodation 95% of all asylum seekers in Scotland are being accommodated in Glasgow and only 14 other local authorities are accommodating anyone through the home office pathway.

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“We are not in control of how many people the home office chooses to accommodate in Glasgow. That is a figure that we sometimes are particularly challenged about in the city.”

Bailie Norman McLeod said it “was a matter of great distress that Glasgow continue to be in breach of its statutory duties”.

He said: “My sympathy goes to the officers charged with trying to get a cork into a pint pot.

“The fact that we seem to be housing a significant number of people where it would be a lot easier if they were able to obtain long term accommodation where they had been resident while their applications were determined.

“It seems to me that our housing challenges will not ultimately be resolved until we have more houses.

“You will understand that if the city had another thousand properties let alone the 400 odd that are lying empty it would make your task so much easier.”

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Councillor Jon Molyneux added that there are long standing problems with Glasgow’s homelessness service that pre-date the current pressures.

He said: “The timeline of the paper starts with covid in 2020 but all the time I have been an elected member the council has been in statutory breach of its homelessness obligations.

“We were facing a legal challenge from Shelter back in 2019. We refused temporary accommodation more than 3000 times in 2018 so there are long standing problems with our homelessness service that pre-date the current pressures.

“That is not to do down the extraordinary pressures that are coming at the moment that are coming at the moment through the asylum route in particular but I am concerned that there does seem to be fundamental pressures here.

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“Although there is clearly a huge amount of work going on and I am grateful to officers for doing that, I don’t believe at present it is amounting to a systemic change. I think there is a lot more that can be done in terms of empowering councils.”

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