Call to ease 'burden' of housing refugees on Glasgow City Council

The frontrunner to be the next leader of Glasgow City Council has said it is unfair Glasgow council tax payers are "carrying the burden" of housing refugees for the "whole of Scotland".

Ricky Bell, currently deputy leader, said the council needed more funding or a change in the law that would see more people housed outside of the city.

Almost half of the 3,895 homelessness applications in Glasgow between April and September 2025 were from people with refugee status or leave to remain.

Bell told BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast: "The government either needs to change the legislation or fund the outcomes of that legislation, and at the moment we're in the middle of that and they're doing neither."

Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice and Housing Shirley-Anne Somerville said asylum accommodation was the responsibility of the Home Office, but they were aware of the pressure on the local authority.

Bell's comments came as a report by the Accounts Commission identified a £110m budget gap in the council's budget spanning the next two financial years.

It identified a number of factors - including an ongoing equal pay dispute - but pointed to the rising cost of homelessness as adding to budget pressures.

Glasgow City Council said the cost of addressing applications from refugees was £38m in 2025-26.

This has to come from council funds, and officials have forecast that the figure could grow to £56m for the coming year and £74m in 2027-28.

Bell said the numbers of homeless applications had "gone up significantly" and called for action by the Scottish government.

"Glasgow is carrying the burden for the whole of Scotland and that can't be right," he said.

"It can't fall on the taxpayers of Glasgow to support all of these people across the whole country, so the government needs to look at changing some of its policies.

"Maybe allowing us to look at housing people on a regional basis rather than just everybody has to be in the city, or looking at some of their policies which say in Scotland if you present yourself as homeless you can choose which part of the country you want to present yourself."

The SNP councillor said he understood why a high proportion of applicants choose to live in the city, citing its diverse population and the fact people are drawn to places where there are other members of their community.

He added that "the burden for all of that can't sit with Glasgow".

In May, the current leader of the council Susan Aitken wrote a letter to Jenny Gilruth upon her appointment as deputy first minister, in which she asked for more support in dealing with the crisis.

"I am seeking an early meeting with you to discuss what is not only the most pressing and urgent issue facing the city of Glasgow, but also one of the most challenging public finance issues for Scotland as a whole: that is homelessness, and specifically refugee homelessness," she said.

"This is an issue that is not of Glasgow's making and which is significantly beyond our control, but which poses an immediate and untenable threat to financial sustainability, public services and community cohesion in our city."

Bell said the Scottish government has now said it would make a " meaningful contribution" to helping with the issue, but the council now needed to know what that meant.

"We are now in very close discussions with the government about what 'meaningful' means, so we can actually tie that down to pounds and pence contribution to it."

Glasgow declared an emergency over the lack of housing in 2023, and the situation has been exacerbated by attempts by the Home Office to clear the backlog of people awaiting asylum decisions.

Asylum seekers are supported by the Home Office until they are given leave to remain. At this point they can present themselves as homeless and become the responsibility of the local authority.

Bell added that the UK government had "a big part to play" in the problem as well.

"They are responsible for asylum seekers and they are the ones who have quite openly said they are trying to reduce their costs - the government pays for their support for these people until they get a decision to stay."

In August a documentary by BBC Disclosure focused on the issues around violence and drug use in Glasgow, as well as tensions and protests over the immigration.

Bell said he was aware of the problem and had seen for himself the issue while walking through the city centre on the way to City Chambers.

"I see that there are loads of young people gathering there that are maybe not doing anything wrong but it's the feeling [that they are]," he said.

The councillor said that if he became council leader he would seek a meeting with the chief constable of Police Scotland to discuss what more the force can do about drug dealing in the city.

He also said that he was a "huge advocate" of increasing the size of Glasgow council to incorporate other areas.

Bell said he would like to see residents of areas like East Renfrewshire, who travel into the city for work and socialising, contribute to the cost of infrastructure.

"The smaller surrounding authorities are in a much better position, I think we should put them all back in and have a sort of bigger Glasgow that would allow us to spread some of those costs," he added.

Bell was elected head of the SNP group in May after Susan Aitken announced she would step down.

The Govan councillor currently serves as the council's depute leader and city treasurer.

He is expected to take over the leadership when a formal vote is held following Aitken's departure next week.

Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice and Housing Shirley-Anne Somerville said: "Provision of asylum dispersal accommodation is entirely the responsibility of the UK Home Office and people seeking asylum have no right to local authority social housing in Scotland until they have been granted leave to remain and are recognised as refugees.

"We are aware of the acute pressures facing Glasgow City Council, as a result of the UK Government's mismanagement of asylum policy and we continue to support the council with these pressures."

BBC Scotland has contacted the Home Office for comment.