DESTITUTE asylum seekers are being left homeless because of the Home Office’s failure to monitor the operations of private contractors tasked with managing their accommodation.
Five failed asylum seekers, whom the Home Office admitted were “highly vulnerable”, took their case to the High Court in a bid to have it reconsidered after they had been left homeless for lengthy periods.
While Home Secretary Priti Patel admitted she had a duty to accommodate the claimants in the meantime to avoid a breach of human rights legislation, the main issue was whether her department’s system for discharging that legal duty was so defective it was unlawful.
Justice Robin Knowles found the Home Office had failed to monitor the provision of accommodation to disabled migrants in breach of the law, and discriminated unlawfully against one man by subjecting him to unfavourable treatment because of something that arose from his disability.
He said the evidence showed the needs of disabled people were “insufficiently identified, information about those needs is insufficiently shared, and those needs are insufficiently addressed within the system that is being used”.
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The Home Office is currently paying £4 billion for a 10-year contract with private firms for asylum housing, which still has almost nine years to run.
Although the court ruling affects England and Wales, immigration is a reserved matter, and a leading lawyer has said it should also apply in Scotland. Usman Aslam, from Rea Law in Glasgow, told The National: “The fact that the Secretary of State even fought this perhaps highlights their attitude towards vulnerable asylum seekers.
“It comes as no surprise that the judge found that the Home Office systematically failed to monitor the contracts, ignored the evidence from various organisations, that the contracts were failing and allowed vulnerable people to be left without accommodation or with unsuitable accommodation for prolonged periods of time.
“In my view this should apply in Scotland as, although a ruling in England is not determinative, it is persuasive in Scottish courts.
“Separately, and moreover, immigration is a reserved matter therefore in reality this ought to directly affect vulnerable asylum seekers in Scotland.”
The Home Office said the Government took seriously its legal obligations to provide support, including accommodation to asylum seekers, and was in the process of fixing our “broken” system to make it “firm and fair”.
A spokesperson added: “We will consider the judgement carefully, including whether or not to further appeal.”
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