Seòmar agus comataidhean

Good morning, panel. Thank you for joining us and for what you have said so far. I am sorry that I cannot be with you in person today.

I want to explore a couple of issues about the use of hotels and how they support or do not support you in your important, necessary work. I will, if I may, come to Bronagh Andrew first. Bronagh, you mentioned in your opening remarks that one of TARA’s concerns is that hotels provide ready-made places where traffickers can go to target vulnerable people. Can you tell us more about how you have seen that sort of thing function, if you have seen that in Scotland? Given that we are likely to see more hotel use across Scotland, how do you see it changing the nature of your work?

Thanks, Thomas.

Gayle Findlay, from your experience of working in COSLA and seeing what is happening across different local authorities, what should we be thinking about doing better or differently to ensure that we get integration between the asylum seekers who are being supported—hopefully—in hotels, and the immediate local communities and the wider local authority area? What are the key challenges or asks that you have?

Good morning, members of the panel. Thank you for joining us and for your opening statements.

I want to explore in a bit more detail the use of hotel accommodation for asylum seekers. Thomas, you indicated that you felt that you were given more of an instruction than an invitation to accommodate asylum seekers in a hotel in your local authority area. Can you say a little bit about the experience that you have in dealing with Mears and the Home Office and about the challenges that you face in providing the necessary support or the challenges that you encounter in meeting the support gap that asylum seekers might have in hotels?

That is very helpful. Your point about resourcing for the public and third sectors is well made.

My final question is for Susanne Millar and is about the situation in Glasgow. Obviously, you have decades of experience in a way that other local authorities do not, but with that experience comes the burden of having to deal with some of the more complex situations. Can you reflect on the tragedy at the Park Inn hotel and on whether, across the piece, we have learned the lessons that we needed to learn from that? What changes have not been made yet that we should look to make? What else do we need to think about to ensure that we do not see a repeat of that, or a similar incident, and that we are genuinely being trauma informed in our support for asylum seekers?

Thanks for that, Bronagh. We have heard before that hotel accommodation is not at all conducive to trauma recovery, and it is important that you have highlighted that.

My final question for you is about TARA's relationship with Mears, as it is, I suppose, the hotel manager in Scotland. How have you found your relationship with Mears? In your regular engagement meetings, are you able to identify issues early on? Is Mears receptive to the kinds of requests that you make of it in relation to transferring particularly vulnerable people? How would you describe the relationship with Mears?

Thanks. That was really helpful, and it is good to have it fleshed out like that.

I have another question that is still focused on hotel use, but it is about how you engage with local communities on the ground, no matter whether a hotel has been newly identified or has been in use for asylum seekers for some time. What about the community relations and engagement work for which you have responsibility? Are there things that we need to think about, given the changes that could come in with the new legislation to how we engage with local communities where hotels are being used this way?

Linked to that, just as hotels might be targeted by traffickers and people who want to exploit vulnerable asylum seekers, might they be targeted by far-right extremists, too? We have seen what happened in Erskine, for instance. Do you have concerns about that sort of thing arising from the prolonged and extended use of hotels?

Good morning. I thank the witnesses for joining us. I share their fury and rage about what is happening—in relation to both the Illegal Migration Bill and the constant undermining of human beings.

I take Selina Hales’s point about the language that we use very much to heart. When we are functioning in a system that is so dehumanising and marginalising, everything that we say and do matters.

I often ask about the use of institutional accommodation, because that is what we are talking about when we talk about hotels. Pinar Aksu talked about the normalisation of not having community. That is, in essence, what we are doing. I want to explore a few issues, particularly issues around who gets access. Selina Hales spoke about charities not being let in. I know that she wants to come back in, and I am sure that she will be able to later.

First, though, I want to ask María José Pavez about her work with the Grampian Regional Equality Council. I am aware of issues at a particular hotel in Aberdeen, which I will not name. People from the local community wanted to go in—indeed, they were going in—to provide help and support, to befriend the asylum seekers and to just be human beings, but they were banned from the hotel. In your view, how widespread an issue is that? Given the control that Mears has over access, how can we unpick the situation to allow the community in, even if we cannot build the proper community that we want?

I take the point that was made earlier about some things being easier in some parts of the country than in others. From the conversations that you have, what particular challenges are there in Aberdeen in relation to the ecology of support organisations? You specifically mentioned issues with accessing legal support, but are there other challenges that we need to address?

My next question is for Savan Qadir. We talk about the importance of integration, and I agree with Pinar Aksu’s point that integration cannot happen if we essentially lock people up in hotels for months on end. In your experience, what capacity has there been to have community discussions that are not forced and controlled but take place in safe spaces where people can come together in a way that allows local residents to engage and work with those who are in hotels? Is that something that you see happening? Does it happen well in some places? Does it happen at all in others?