Home Office minister urged to visit Inverness amid concern over asylum plan

Home Office minister Alex Norris should face politicians and the public in Inverness before moving asylum seekers into a disused military barracks, the Scottish Parliament has heard.

Cameron Barracks has been chosen as accommodation for around 300 men who are expected to move in next month.

Norris told the Commons that officials have been working directly with the Scottish Government, councils and local service providers.

But social justice secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said the Scottish Government had found out about the decision through the media, not by formal notification.

MSPs for the region have raised concerns about the impact of the move on local services, with Edward Mountain saying GPs in the area are “creaking at the seams” and Emma Roddick telling how she is dealing with “confused correspondence” from constituents about what is happening.

Somerville said her team had been notified of considerations about the measure last month, but her request for a meeting on the matter had gone unanswered.

Speaking in Holyrood, she said she had written to the Home Office seeking reassurance around the provision of “full wraparound services” on the site, which was recently used as temporary accommodation for families fleeing the resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan.

Somerville said that instance was “very successful” thanks to collaborative working between the two governments. 

She said: “If we can do it once, we can do it again, but it requires the willingness of the UK Government.”

Fergus Ewing called for a “rational, calm discussion” and acknowledgement that local concern springs from “various practical matters” rather than racism. 

Raising concerns about the condition of the barracks, he suggested Norris “should visit Inverness, should come and explain to people there and be open to questions from the press about what is going to happen”.

The 140-year-old site is to be the subject of a £1m renovation covering cleaning, repairs and redecorating, a measure that is part of the UK Government’s plan to end the use of hotel accommodation for asylum seekers.

Highland Council has said it was given no information from the UK Government on whether the works will require planning consent.

The leaders of the council and the opposition have raised concerns about “community cohesion”, saying that: “Inverness is a relatively small community but the potential impact locally and across the wider Highlands appears not to have been taken into consideration by the UK Government.”

Norris said the Home Office recognised the importance of local engagement, adding: “We are clear that impact on communities will be minimised. The safety and security of people living and working in the surrounding areas is paramount.”

Labour’s Michael Marra MSP said the UK Government had inherited a “policy disaster from the Tories, who broke the asylum system”. He said more asylum decisions and increased removals show the system is now “going in the right direction”, adding: “The use of military barracks as a temporary measure is a practical step that will deliver better value for the public.”

Somerville said: “The Scottish Government recognises that there's a need to provide safe, supported accommodation for people seeking asylum. Of course there is, and we agree that the long-term use of hotel accommodation is not suitable and that alternatives must be sought. 

"All we're asking for is that you consider the cohort, you work out what services that cohort requires, and then you work with local government, with the Scottish Government and with local service providers to find the best place to accommodate those people. You don't find somewhere to put people and then try and shoehorn everything else in after the decision has been made.”