Joseph Rowntree Foundation Report, Destitution by Design

That the Parliament welcomes the publication of research by Heriot-Watt University, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Destitution by Design: Righting the Wrongs of UK Immigration Policy in Scotland; understands that the report is the second in a three-year evaluation of Fair Way Scotland, a partnership of third sector organisations, including Homeless Network Scotland, Refugee Survival Trust, Scottish Refugee Council, Simon Community Scotland and Turning Point Scotland, which helps to prevent destitution among those with no recourse to public funds or other restricted eligibility for state support due to immigration status; further understands that the main findings from a surveyed sample of those accessing crisis support from Fair Way Scotland include the finding that 97% of those surveyed were destitute, with an average weekly income of just £40, with a third reporting no income at all in the last month, and that 66% of those surveyed were not permitted to work, making experiences of illegal and exploitative work common; notes with concern the conclusions of the report, including that thousands of people in Scotland are forced into extreme poverty and homelessness due to restrictions on access to essential support; further notes that going hungry and without clothing and toiletry basics, rough sleeping and poor health, both mental and physical, was common; understands that the issues covered affect people who have been living in Scotland for years or decades, including those who seek asylum as well as European Economic Area nationals who cannot access support following the UK’s exit from the EU; recognises what it considers to be the important services that Fair Way Scotland offers for immediate and wider needs, support with casework and engaging with lawyers and the Home Office; notes with concern that the availability of services provided by the partnership, it understands, falls far short of demand, given the limited funding available; recognises that the report’s recommendations include an ask of the Scottish Government to use all devolved levers at its disposal to stop what it sees as this humanitarian crisis from worsening, including co-investing with independent funders, housing associations and other partners to rapidly scale up Fair Way Scotland, and thanks researchers at Heriot-Watt University’s Institute for Social Policy, Housing and Equalities Research, and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, for undertaking what it considers to be important research and shedding new light on the levels of need, deprivation, disadvantage and trauma experienced by what it considers to be some of the most vulnerable people in society.