Meeting of the Parliament 17 June 2014
I am grateful to Dennis Robertson for that intervention. I acknowledge the part that the media can play, but that only strengthens my argument that the Government needs to ensure that the facts are put into the public domain repeatedly—ad nauseam—so that we understand exactly what is happening in our various communities.
In that context, I commend the work of the Scottish Refugee Council, COSLA, the third sector, individuals across our communities and communities themselves for the work that they are doing to improve the nature of the reception that we offer asylum seekers and refugees in our country and the assistance that they receive on the stages that will lead, one would hope, to productive residence.
The “New Scots” report is to be welcomed and, in that regard, Scottish Labour supports the Government’s motion. We also support the amendment from the Lib Dems.
On an institutional basis, it has been indicated that successive Scottish Governments have provided £13.5 million to aid the integration of asylum seekers and refugees into our communities. In all truth, that is a modest sum of money over a 13-year period. No doubt the award of £2 million from the Big Lottery Fund to the Scottish Refugee Council will be a welcome benefit that will enable it to do the work that it delivers on our behalf.
It is well recognised that, as the minister said in his speech, generations of asylum seekers have benefited Scotland throughout the ages. There is no doubt that there are still great difficulties for asylum seekers coming here to attain refugee status, from the 28-day timeframe to move asylum seekers into mainstream accommodation and from the ability of the universal credit system to deliver financial support.
There are a number of questions for the minister. Can he assure us that some clarity of information will be forthcoming? Will he obtain accurate numbers, which are absent from the “New Scots” report, in terms of asylum seekers and those who are refugees in our country in order that we know what we are dealing with? Will he commit to ensuring that none of those categories of people will be taken advantage of by unscrupulous employers who would seek to take advantage of those people’s weakness?
The minister referred to the card system that is utilised. That system was brought into disrepute many decades ago when it was used for social security. It placed those who needed to use the cards in a very weak situation at a point when they were vulnerable, and the cards’ value was often discounted by unscrupulous shopkeepers who would not offer what was necessary. Evidence of that should be produced and utilised in order that we can get rid of the cards.
It would be helpful to know the numbers of employers who have been reported for taking advantage of those in the asylum and refugee community and the number of gangmasters who have been convicted in Scotland in that connection. I would support any commitment that the Government offers to local authorities, particularly Glasgow City Council, which we need to acknowledge has led the way in offering support in some very difficult circumstances.
I support the motion and the Lib Dems’ amendment.