Asylum seekers win housing case

Asylum seekers win housing case

The asylum seekers were taken to Glasgow

Asylum seekers who were housed in Glasgow have won the right to apply for accommodation in London.

The ruling at the Court of Appeal in London concerned two families, one from Iraq and the other from Afghanistan.

They had been "dispersed" to Scotland by the government's National Asylum Support Service following their arrival in the UK.

The families were told that no help with housing would be available unless they went to Glasgow.

Normally resident

However, when they were given permission to stay in the UK the two families were told by Glasgow City Council that they had to leave the city.

They applied to be rehoused in London, but were refused permission by the capital's boroughs.

The families were told that they should instead apply to Glasgow City Council as that was where they were normally resident.

On Friday the Appeal Court in London ruled that asylum seekers who were given "no choice" but to move to Glasgow had not consented to living north of the border.

Residence of choice

Although they had to live there while their asylum claims were considered, they were entitled to move south to London again once they had been granted permission to stay in the country.

Lord Justice Simon Brown said the key issue was whether Glasgow could be seen as the residence of the asylum seekers' choice.

"If the provider of accommodation cannot even pay regard to the applicant's preference as to its locality it cannot, in my judgement, be right then to characterise residence in that locality as being of the applicant's own choice," he said.

"That is the bottom line. I would allow these appeals."

'Unattractive' judgement

Lord Justice Carnwath agreed with Lord Justice Simon Brown, but Lord Justice Buxton added a dissenting voice.

He said that, in his view, the asylum seekers had developed a "local connection" to Glasgow and had, as a matter of statutory interpretation, "exercised choice" in moving there.

"I am conscious that the view that I have expressed in this judgement may be found unattractive," he said.

"That, indeed, is a characterisation that I would apply to it myself."