Open Letter to Scottish and UK Governments on Refugee Homelessness

Legal Services Agency (LSA) is proud to join over 30 other housing, refugee rights, and equalities organisations in signing a coalition letter urging political leaders to take immediate action to address the homelessness crisis affecting refugees in Scotland.

We’re calling on the Scottish and UK Governments to take positive steps to prevent people granted leave to remain from falling into homelessness, and to ensure there are no moves to rollback people’s lifeline housing rights.

About the letter, Alison Watson, Director of Shelter Scotland, said:

Scotland’s homelessness services are in crisis, and we cannot allow misinformation to drive policy backwards. Rolling back rights won’t solve homelessness; it will only put more people on the streets. 

The current system means refugees are made homeless within weeks of receiving status. We need the UK Government to give people adequate time to secure accommodation, the Scottish Government to direct funding to areas facing the greatest pressure and for all political leaders to challenge harmful myths that wrongly conflates asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants.

These are legal distinctions that matter. That’s why over 30 organisations across housing, refugee rights and equality sectors are united in calling for leadership and constructive solutions, not toxic rhetoric that plays into the hands of those spreading hate.

To read the full letter, please click here.

The letter was also covered in the Herald, to read the article, please click here.