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Scotland’s highest court rules Glasgow asylum seeker evictions are lawful
A government contractor’s policy to evict hundreds of asylum seekers in Glasgow without obtaining a court order has been ruled lawful by Scotland’s highest court.
In a case that involved asylum seeker Shakar Omar Ali on one side and Serco and the Home Office on the other, the Court of Sessions upheld a previous decision which ruled Serco was acting lawfully when it issued eviction notices to failed asylum seekers last year.
The public services giant was heavily criticised when it began sending seven-day lock-change notices to some households whose application for asylum had been rejected.
Serco argued it was being forced to pick up the bill for asylum seekers whose rent was no longer being paid by the Home Office as a result of their applications being rejected.
In today’s judgement, Lady Dorrian said Ms Ali only needed to be given written notice of the decision to evict her after her asylum application was refused, as it was clear her occupancy was “temporary”.
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In September, Mears Group took over Serco’s contract to house asylum seekers in Scotland. However, as part of the deal, Mears did not take over responsibility for people like Ms Ali who had their applications denied.
According to Serco, there are currently around 150 people who fall into this category and will therefore be affected by today’s judgement.
At the time of taking over the contract, Mears made a commitment that it would seek a court order before evicting any asylum seekers that have had or will have their applications rejected while it holds the contract. This does not include the 150 people that Serco have responsibility for.
Julia Rogers, chief operating officer at Serco, said the company has been “demonised” and will work with the authorities to ensure an “orderly sensitive application of the law”.
She said Serco would not seek to remove more than 20 people in any one week from their properties, meaning it will take “several months at least to finally hand back all properties to their owners.”
Many of the homes Serco used to house asylum seekers are leased from housing associations.
Aileen Campbell, Scottish communities and local government secretary, said: “I am disappointed at this news today and the impact it will have on more than 130 people.
“If people are unable to leave the UK once they have exhausted their appeal rights, they should receive the support they need to make informed decisions about their future.”
The Home Office said if someone has no right to remain in the UK then there is no legal basis to continue to provide support.
However, it said it will still provide accommodation and support to individuals who would otherwise be destitute and are temporarily unable to leave the UK because of practical or legal obstacles.
