Committee
Equal Opportunities Committee, 29 Feb 2000
29 Feb 2000 · S1 · Equal Opportunities Committee
Item of business
Scottish Refugee Council
Sally Daghlian:
Watch on SPTV
We understand that they would not. The legislation states that the Home Secretary can have no regard to the asylum seeker's preference. Under the interim dispersal schemes that are being implemented, people have been separated from their families. Members of the committee may have seen a "Panorama" programme recently that showed the difficulties of an asylum-seeking family who had arrived in London and had relatives there, but were promptly bussed off to Liverpool. Until the bus pulled away from London, those people did not understand that they were being sent to another city.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Convener:
SNP
The second piece of evidence today is from the Scottish Refugee Council. James Mackenzie and Sally Daghlian will outline some of their concerns about the imp...
Sally Daghlian (Scottish Refugee Council):
Thank you for inviting us to give evidence to the committee today. We are pleased that the committee is taking an interest in refugee issues. Refugees and as...
The Deputy Convener:
SNP
Thank you, Sally. James, do you have anything to add at this stage?
James Mackenzie (Scottish Refugee Council):
No.
The Deputy Convener:
SNP
You mentioned the need for host communities to provide community education. Are you aware of any Home Office or Scottish Executive plans to carry out such ed...
Sally Daghlian:
We are not aware of any such plans. The Home Office has recommended that the regional consortia that are to oversee the dispersal of asylum seekers should de...
Johann Lamont:
Lab
You may not be aware that the Local Government Committee intends to address the impact of dispersal on the demands on local government services. A lot of wha...
Sally Daghlian:
The Government has suggested that asylum seekers should be placed only in areas in which there are ethnic minority communities, so that those people can acce...
James Mackenzie:
There is a specific concern about the so-called hard cases in that the replacement system under section 12 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 does not ap...
Johann Lamont:
Lab
Does that mean that children and young people would be particularly vulnerable? Is that group excluded from social services provision?
Sally Daghlian:
At the moment, homeless asylum-seeking families with children would be accommodated under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995. After the implementation of the c...
Mr McMahon:
Lab
One of the other areas that you highlighted was employment. The law says that an employer cannot take on someone who does not have permission to work, yet em...
Sally Daghlian:
Without going into all the technicalities—which I would not be able to do—there are employment permits and so on to consider. The permission that an asylum s...
Mr Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con):
Con
I wanted clarification on whether support will be in the form of a packet of vouchers and £10 cash per person. How often is the £10 provided?
Sally Daghlian:
Once a week.
Mr McGrigor:
Con
And the vouchers are for different services?
Sally Daghlian:
The vouchers may be exchanged in shops for food or clothing.
Mr McGrigor:
Con
You are obviously against that system. You—or Kent County Council—are saying that it is three and a half times more expensive than a cash system. Are not the...
Sally Daghlian:
I see it the other way round. Vouchers are more difficult for people to understand, whereas cash is universal. People understand what money is and how it can...
Mr McGrigor:
Con
I have had a similar experience. I remember going to Russia, in 1969 I think. I had to use a voucher system and I found it very complicated. On the subject o...
Sally Daghlian:
Asylum seekers used to be entitled to welfare benefits. We think that that is cheaper, more efficient and in the asylum seeker's interests. The £10 cash is i...
Tricia Marwick:
SNP
You say that, under NASS, up to 6,000 asylum seekers will be dispersed to Scotland every year. Is that 6,000 individuals or 6,000 family units?
Sally Daghlian:
I think that it is 6,000 principal asylum seekers, so it could include more individuals. Usually, the Home Office counts the principal asylum seeker. However...
Tricia Marwick:
SNP
Would those who decide that one person is coming to Scotland and another is going to London have regard to family relationships, so that people in the same f...
Sally Daghlian:
We understand that they would not. The legislation states that the Home Secretary can have no regard to the asylum seeker's preference. Under the interim dis...
Mr John Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD):
LD
In your submission, you say:"Destitute asylum seekers will be dispersed across the UK on a no-choice basis",irrespective of family commitments and so on. Sur...
Sally Daghlian:
Yes.
Mr Munro:
LD
If the family is broken up, that adds to the trauma that the asylum seekers are experiencing.
Sally Daghlian:
We agree. One of our concerns is that some people will choose not to be dispersed, because they would rather stay in places where there are people whom they ...
Elaine Smith:
Lab
Do you think that there is a danger that asylum seekers may be housed in areas where housing is hard to let? Would that concern you?