Scotland’s largest city is on the brink of cutting ties with the UK’s asylum dispersal scheme, as Glasgow officials warn that spiralling costs and mounting pressures have left the immigration system teetering on the edge. The situation, described by insiders as “chaos,” signals a dramatic shift in how one of the UK’s main refugee host cities is responding to a deepening national crisis.
Glasgow, long considered a central hub for asylum support, is preparing to say enough is enough. With the cost of refugee services expected to triple within just three years, city leaders say they can no longer carry the financial and social weight alone.
Costs Soaring, Patience Worn Thin
The figures coming out of Glasgow paint a stark picture. Officials say the burden of supporting asylum seekers is climbing far faster than local budgets can cope with. Over just a few years, the city’s refugee-related expenditure is forecast to triple—pushing councils already dealing with stretched public services to breaking point.
While exact numbers haven’t been made public, senior figures within Glasgow City Council are reportedly pressing the Home Office for urgent action—or for the right to step away from the UK’s asylum dispersal programme altogether. The situation is becoming unsustainable.
There’s growing resentment too over the perception that Glasgow is shouldering more than its fair share. The city has long taken in more asylum seekers per capita than many areas in England, and with little direct control over how those allocations are made, officials feel increasingly sidelined.
One insider put it bluntly: “We’re full. We’re broke. And we’re ignored.”
North-South Divide Creating Uneven Pressures
A glaring imbalance is feeding tensions. While Glasgow struggles to keep up with the demands placed on it, the Home Office’s dispersal strategy remains heavily tilted towards certain regions. Scotland’s treatment of asylum seekers differs in key ways from England, especially when it comes to access to services and legal support.
This legal and policy mismatch means Glasgow often ends up hosting people with more complex needs, while southern councils face fewer responsibilities. Over time, this has fostered resentment.
• Glasgow has the highest concentration of asylum seekers in the UK
• Legal duties in Scotland create more cost burdens for councils
• Local government funding hasn’t kept up with demand
• Calls for reform of the Home Office dispersal system are growing louder
It’s a messy split, and one that critics say is widening with every passing year. The political and administrative divide between Westminster and Holyrood is playing out in real-time—and asylum seekers are caught in the middle.
Past Protests Still Haunt the City
For many in Glasgow, this isn’t just a policy issue—it’s personal. Memories of the 2019 asylum seeker eviction scandal still linger. Back then, private housing provider Serco sparked uproar after threatening to evict hundreds of asylum seekers who had been refused refugee status. The backlash was swift, with protests erupting across the city and legal challenges piling in.
That episode scarred trust between the local community, service providers, and the Home Office. And now, with fresh warnings of another wave of unsustainable pressure, fears are resurfacing.
One local councillor said, “We’ve been here before, and it was ugly. We don’t want to go back.”
And the worry isn’t just moral or legal—it’s logistical. If Glasgow starts refusing new asylum dispersals, where will those people go? What happens when other councils start saying the same?
The Political Fuse Is Lit
Behind closed doors, tensions between local and national government are getting harder to hide. Glasgow’s move to challenge the current system directly puts pressure on the Home Office, which has long resisted calls for reform. But Scotland’s leaders are now hinting they may take more control into their own hands.
The Scottish Government has already been critical of Westminster’s handling of immigration, with some SNP figures calling for a fully devolved immigration policy. That’s not currently within Holyrood’s powers—but this crisis may give fresh momentum to the idea.
With UK immigration policy already under intense scrutiny from both sides of the political spectrum, a major city opting out of the dispersal scheme could open a new front in the debate. And it’s happening at a time when immigration is expected to be a key issue in the next general election.
What Happens Now?
As Glasgow pushes back, all eyes are on how the Home Office responds. Will it offer more funding? Will it reform the way asylum seekers are distributed across the UK? Or will it dig in and risk further breakdown?
One thing is clear: Glasgow’s message is ringing out loud and clear. They feel overburdened, underfunded, and increasingly left to manage a UK-wide policy that’s falling apart at the seams.
There’s growing concern that other councils might soon follow suit. If that happens, the entire UK dispersal model could collapse—leaving a vacuum in support for thousands of people fleeing war, persecution, and crisis.
