Want to boost Scotland’s economy? Then let asylum seekers work

As well as being sidelined and vulnerable, Scotland’s community of 5,080 asylum seekers contains some highly educated and skilled individuals, who want to contribute economically to Scotland, but are unable to do so because of a work ban imposed by Westminster.

Devolution was supposed to be about equipping Scotland with powers to make decisions that benefit its population, even if they differ, or contradict, those taken at Westminster.

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Successive SNP administrations have demonstrated how skilled they are at spending money they have had no role in generating, exemplified by the current £1 billion black hole amassed by the SNP’s largesse.

Its way of addressing the deficit is to pull the plug on many of the spending plans it signed-off on, as well as leaving taxpayers across the board to pick up the tab.

We never seem to hear from SNP ministers any plans to generate wealth, or to raise money other than through taxation.

Granted, many of the fiscal levers required to facilitate a business-friendly environment, including attracting outside investment, are domiciled south of the Border. But that should not preclude them from using the measures which are at their disposal to grow the economy.

Every year, thousands of refugees arrive here with no English. Some gain language qualifications, paid for by Scottish taxpayers, which they are then unable to use. Many more don’t get the chance to learn because there are too many of them and not enough classrooms or teachers.

Asylum seekers are banned from working in the UK until their applications are processed and they acquire refugee status.

Some recent schemes such as Homes for Ukraine and Hong Kong BNOs and Afghan Resettlement Scheme confer refugee status and the right to work and claim benefits immediately because, politically, people from these countries are seen as more deserving.

Asylum seekers who have been waiting for more than 12-months for their claim to be processed may be given permission to work, but stringent salary restrictions apply.

This contrasts with EU legislation, which mandates that member states permit asylum seekers to work after a nine-month waiting period.

There may be compelling political reasons why successive UK governments have restricted the ability of asylum seekers to work.

With net migration at an all-time high, and tens of thousands of people attempting to gain entry to the country illegally every year - including through potentially lethal, small boat crossings in the English Channel - ministers at Westminster can’t afford to be seen to be offering such people any further incentives to arrive on UK shores.

But the same arguments don’t apply in Scotland which, due to demographic pressures, is struggling to replace an ageing, Indigenous workforce.

Despite a doubling of the number of migrants arriving in Scotland in the decade to 2022, to 48,000, Scotland receives around 6% of net migrants into the UK, which is lower than its 8.4% population share.

The UK system traps asylum seekers in poverty, forcing them to subsist on a meagre £50 a week, while barring them from working, leaving them vulnerable during the often lengthy wait for a decision on their application. This forces many of them into working in the black economy where they do not contribute to the wealth of the country through the taxation system.

The amount of aid spent on hosting refugees and asylum seekers in the UK continued to rise last year to £4.3 billion - up from £3.7 billion in 2022 - amid ongoing value-for- money concerns, according to the Independent Commission for Aid Impact.

If UK ministers can make exceptions to the rules for political reasons, there is surely a legal case for their counterparts at Holyrood to do the same. With some creative thinking, SNP ministers could turn this drain on resources into a net benefit, rewarding asylum seekers sooner and for greater amounts in return for productive work.

While employment remains a reserved issue, working migrants could be remunerated through devolved powers over benefits or through local authority grants, funded indirectly by employers.

It is estimated, from independently produced figures, that Scotland is losing out on up to £264 million a year, by refusing to allow these migrants to work.

The calculation includes factors including lost tax revenue, reduced social welfare payments, and increased productivity and innovation stemming from a larger, more diverse workforce.

There is growing disquiet among voters about the cost burden of refugees and asylum seekers, but little acknowledgement that it is exacerbated by UK Government policy.

Another obstacle preventing asylum seekers from integrating into Scottish society isn't a Westminster ban, but a lack of accessible English language training.

Significant budget cuts to college ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) departments, prioritising higher-value courses, have left thousands on waiting lists. This is aggravated by factors like the bus pass ban, preventing affordable access to the limited volunteer-run language support available.

Holyrood could use devolved powers over benefits to remunerate working refugees (Image: Getty)

Despite existing lengthy waiting lists, pre-dating the recent influx of refugees from Ukraine, Hong Kong, and Afghanistan, the situation has become worse.

Funding for local initiatives to address this have been inconsistently allocated and drastically reduced by the SNP Government, despite their effectiveness and cost-efficiency, even with online tutoring.

The inefficiency extends beyond funding. The slow pace of college language courses - twice weekly for a full academic year - contrasts sharply with rapid, intensive programmes offered by private providers.

This highlights a systemic failure in resource allocation and programme design within the Scottish education system, hindering refugee integration and employment opportunities.

The Scottish Government could use devolved powers to review current restrictive work policies and align them with more inclusive practices found in other comparable European countries, by shortening the waiting period for work eligibility and removing unnecessary salary restrictions.

The Greens are right to highlight the humanitarian impact of forcing people to live on a pittance that barely covers the essential costs of survival, and precludes the ability to purchase even basic sanitary products.

Denying them the cost of travel impedes their ability to attend meetings with Home Office officials, as well as medical appointments. Pregnant asylum seekers placed in housing in far flung areas often have to walk miles to attend check-ups at hospitals.

But there should be a broader conversation about the economic and social benefits of integrating refugees.

The successful implementation of these policy changes would not only improve the lives of refugees but would also positively impact Scotland's economy.

Carlos Alba is a journalist, author, and PR consultant at Carlos Alba Media. His latest novel, There’s a Problem with Dad, explores the issue of undiagnosed autism among older people