PLANS to house newly arrived asylum seekers in a hostel in Glasgow city centre have collapsed in disarray after the local authority raised objections to the scheme.
Serco, which works on behalf of the Home Office, had been seeking to accommodate around 200 people in a Euro Hostel hotel for several months from this weekend until a permanent home could be found.
Newly-arrived asylum seekers are currently housed in Red Road flats, but the contract with Glasgow Housing Association transfers over to Serco at the end of this year, and six of the blocks are due for demolition.
The hostel plan was put in place after a previous application to use the old Scottish Water office in a business park on Balmore Road, in Possil, as a new location for short-stay accommodation for migrants fell through.
Several floors of the Euro Hostel building in Clyde Street would have been given over for the asylum seekers' sole use until the end of February when the contract comes to an end.
It has been confirmed that concerns were raised at Glasgow City Council about the groups' long-time wellbeing and the standard of the accommodation which would have been on offer.
The Euro Hostel has rooms varying in size from two to 14 beds and is often home to backpackers and those visiting the city for nights out, but is not considered suitable as a long-term residence by the council.
A source at Glasgow City Council said the hostel "fell far below" the type of facility which would normally be used to house such a large number of people for a long period of time.
The source said: "Basically, the type of building we would expect to be used would have to be a class-residential institution. There would have to be things like individual rooms and garden provision. Obviously, the hostel has none of this.
"Put bluntly, the Euro Hostel plan is simply not going to cut the mustard. It's shot through with difficulties."
It is understood that the asylum seekers will stay at the Red Road flats until a new plan is found as Glasgow City Council maintains a month-to-month agreement which allows the current arrangement to continue.
However, the increasingly dilapidated buildings are not regarded as a long-term solution to the migrants needs and a new scheme will have to be created.
The recent Smith Commission on further devolution for the Scottish Parliament suggested that changes to who deals with asylum issues should be considered.
This included the possibility of "different powers being in place in Scotland for asylum seekers to access accommodation and financial support and advice".
A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: "Accommodating asylum seekers in a hostel when a full assessment of their needs and circumstances is required would be completely inappropriate.
"We have told the hostel operators that using their premises to accommodate vulnerable people such as asylum seekers would be a breach of their current planning consent."
A spokesman for Euro Hostel said that they had accepted they had been hopeful of taking the contract on during what was traditionally a quiet period, but said that the plan would not now go ahead.
He added: "We saw this as an opportunity and were quite happy to proceed, but then received a letter from Glasgow City Council laying out their objections and have decided we will not be taking up the contract."
Gary Christie, Head of Policy at Scottish Refugee Council said: "Glasgow City Council's statement highlights the urgent need for the Home Office and its contractors to immediately secure a sustainable, long-term accommodation arrangement that has the needs of often very vulnerable people its heart."
Serco declined to comment.
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