PA MediaThe use of hotels to house asylum seekers in Scotland should be ended “as soon as possible”, the Conservatives have insisted, as they accused John Swinney of being “in denial” on the issue.
The Tories are to press the matter at Holyrood on Wednesday, arguing the number of asylum seekers being housed in Scotland is “becoming financially unsustainable”.
A motion, which will be voted on by MSPs, makes clear: “Asylum seekers should never have originally been accommodated in taxpayer-funded hotels.”
PA MediaIt also demands the “closure of all asylum hotels across Scotland as soon as possible”, and for “effective deterrents” to be introduced to try to stop those seeking asylum fleeing to the UK.
The issue is being debated at Holyrood in the wake of protests outside a hotel in Falkirk that is being used to accommodate asylum seekers.
First Minister John Swinney has already said such demonstrations are “completely unacceptable”, while equalities minister Kaukab Stewart said she is “deeply concerned about some of the rhetoric” in the debate around immigration.
Speaking last week, the SNP leader said the “entirely unwelcome” protests, such as those in Falkirk, “create a sense of fear and alarm”.
PA MediaArguing that Scotland is a welcoming country, the First Minister said: “People obviously have the right of peaceful protest in a democracy, but I think the protests outside the hotels that are providing accommodation for asylum seekers are completely unacceptable.
“I think they are distasteful.”
However, Tory local government spokesman Craig Hoy said: “The current system of housing asylum seekers in Scotland can’t continue because it’s financially unsustainable.”
Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s debate, he said that “if illegal immigrants are going to the front of the queue for accommodation, it’s inevitable this will cause resentment”.
Hoy said: “We need to close hotels housing asylum seekers in Scotland. This practice, which increased under the last UK Conservative government, is not working and was a mistake.”
He added that “the SNP’s open-door attitude towards illegal immigrants is only helping criminal gangs who make their fortune by preying on desperate individuals”.
Hoy said: “John Swinney is in denial about the scale of this crisis, and the fact that SNP policies – including cuts to the affordable housing budget and rent controls – created the housing emergency in the first place. He is burying his head in the sand.”
Hitting out at both the First Minister and the UK Government, he continued: “As the number of illegal immigrants coming to the UK and Scotland continues to grow under Labour, he and the Starmer Government must act decisively now to impose effective deterrents.
“Britain should be a place for people to live, not become a hotel for those seeking to come here illegally.”
However, Stewart said: “Asylum and immigration are reserved and UK Government decisions about management of the asylum system are creating significant pressures across the UK, including in Glasgow.”
The equalities minister stressed the UK Government “must provide adequate funding to support newly recognised refugees and communities”.
But she also said she was “deeply concerned about some of the rhetoric we are seeing in the UK, which should have no place in our society”.
The minister added: “No-one should have to fear they will be targeted for who they are and it is critical that everyone feels safe.”
Meanwhile, Reform MSP Graham Simpson, who defected to Nigel Farage’s party from the Scottish Conservatives last month, said: “It is a bit rich for the Tories to be complaining about there being too many asylum seekers coming to Scotland, given that they completely failed to stop the boats when in government.
“They have no credibility on this. Reform is the only party in Scotland with a clear plan to tackle illegal immigration.”
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