Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral contribution of 27 June 2023 by the Minister for Immigration, Official Report column 152, what the evidential basis is for the statement that the SNP does not house refugees in Scotland; and if he will publish the Minister's brief.

Under successive Conservative Governments since 2015 we have welcomed into the United Kingdom more than half a million people seeking sanctuary through our country-specific routes and our global routes run in coordination with the UNHCR. These safe and legal routes have prioritised the UK’s finite resources on those most in need, bypassing the people smuggling gangs to reach those directly in conflict zones. These schemes represent one of the most generous offerings in the UK’s recent history.

The SNP Government are accommodating just 4.5% of the total asylum population being housed in the UK under s95 duty, when Scotland makes up 8.1% of the UK population. Whereas Manchester houses around 1,800 asylum seekers, Edinburgh – a city of similar size – houses fewer than 50 asylum seekers. Just recently the Scottish Government and Edinburgh City Council opposed the berthing of a vessel in Leith, despite the exact same vessel being used to house Ukrainian refugees.

I am happy to clarify that as of 3^rd July, of the local authorities in Scotland where the SNP are the largest party, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, Midlothian and North Ayrshire all housed zero asylum seekers under the s95 duty.

Despite continued numbers of small boat crossings, the latest published data shows that the SNP Government in Scotland is housing fewer asylum seekers than at the start of the year.

We continue to work closely with the Scottish Government and Scottish local authorities to ensure they play their part in housing asylum seekers.

If you would like to put forward specific proposals, please do contact the Home Office at: rasiengagementhubregionalconsultation@homeoffice.gov.uk(opens in a new tab) and officials will happily discuss this in greater detail with you.