Independent Commission of Inquiry into Asylum Provision in Scotland

That the Parliament welcomes the establishment on 26 June 2022 of the Independent Commission of Inquiry into Asylum Provision in Scotland, commissioned by Refugees for Justice and chaired by Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, and congratulates them on a successful launch; believes, in line with the statement in the Foreword to the Commission’s first publication, that "The asylum system is broken"; understands that the Commission has been set up primarily in response to what has become known as "the Park Inn tragedy", which took place in Glasgow in June 2020; notes reports that the experience of asylum seekers who were moved suddenly, and with little or no explanation, into hotel accommodation for an indefinite period of time, with no access to money, deprived of any sense of personal freedom or adequate care, was frightening, degrading, and damaging, regardless of the reasons for doing so; deeply regrets that no accountability has been taken for what it sees as these tragic events, nor, it believes, many lessons learnt; believes that successive Scottish Governments have actively sought to embed integration from day one of the arrival of "New Scots" in Scotland, in line with the stated objectives of the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy, and calls on the Scottish Government to engage positively with the inquiry and to bring pressure to bear on the UK Government and other relevant stakeholders to do likewise.