Dozens of migrants are sleeping in cars after being evicted from homeless accommodation in Scotland’s capital. As many as 50 are living in vehicles in the grounds of Edinburgh’s Almond Lodge House Hotel, an investigation by the Sunday Mail has discovered.
Some, housed in the two-star hotel in the pandemic, are in a car park after being told to leave after financial support for them ran out. Many missed post-Brexit deadlines and have been deemed ineligible for support by the UK Government.
Refugee and migrants’ charity Positive Action in Housing said the situation was shameful. A spokeswoman said: “No amount of arguing about political ideology will help this crisis. It doesn’t put a roof over the heads of those struggling to survive.
“We need to treat this as an emergency and treat those affected like human beings instead of political footballs.”
Most of those sleeping in vehicles have been there for two months and come from Romania. Just 15 minutes along the coast, hundreds of Ukrainian refugees are being put up in a cruise ship.
They have access to food, healthcare and education for their children, with the Scottish Government spending £100million to lease the ship. But during our visits to the hotel in the city’s Muirhouse, we found dozens of people in cars overnight – including one woman in a dilapidated silver Vauxhall Astra.
She said she came from Romania to seek a better life in Scotland but had struggled to find anywhere to stay and been turned away by council services. Speaking via a interpreter, she said: “I have been here for about two months and have been sleeping on the streets wherever I can find shelter.
“I’m now sleeping in a car. It’s cold and wet and I don’t have any way to wash myself or go to the toilet but it is better than being out on the street.
“If I had known what it would be like, I would never have come. I have twice tried to stay in the hotel and get help from the authorities but I’ve been rejected.”
Several other cars and vans nearby had duvets and tinfoil thermal blankets on the back seats. Others, including those with children, who were staying in the hotel told how they were worried they too could soon be homeless.
Bairam Ahmet said the alternative was to “starve in Romania”. The 40-year-old flew to Scotland in 2019 and has been working in a factory. He said: “There are rumours going around that we’re going to be evicted and people are worried.
“I do know people who are having to sleep on the streets and in cars. I am here with my wife and my son and we just want to work and contribute. I have a job but it pays very little and the work is not steady. I’m looking for something secure and regular.
“Sometimes we can go to the factory and they say they only need two people that day, so we have wasted the journey.
“We might only work for two hours or sometimes we work for 12 hours. It makes it very hard to plan anything. We don’t want any luxury, we just want a chance.” He told how his son Tarzan, 12, has been out of school for the last nine months since he came to join his parents and his wife has had her application for pre-settled status rejected by the UK Government, despite having work.
Bairam said: “My wife and I both have the same situation but my application was accepted and hers was not. This means she could be told to leave or be thrown out of the hotel we’re staying in. I just don’t know what will happen.
“My son also is not in school. We want him to be in school and have a good education. We don’t want to go back to Romania, there is nothing for us there.” Even Europeans who have worked in Britain for many years can face barriers to getting help if they become homeless. Those affected have no recourse to public funds (NRPF) such as housing or benefits.
The SNP’s social justice spokesman David Linden MP said it illustrated the “callous and cruel” approach of the UK Government which had “completely failed anyone who finds they have NRPF”.
Labour’s Edinburgh City Council homeless convener Jane Meagher said they were continuing to make the case for housing help to the Scottish Government and Westminster.
She said: “Sadly, the law states local authorities should not provide accommodation to people without recourse to public funds. We must fall in line with the legislation or the support we put in place will be deemed unlawful.”
Edinburgh Council would not confirm whether it was even aware people were sleeping in cars after being evicted but said more than 500 people had presented to its homelessness support centre this winter. Scottish Tory housing spokesman Miles Briggs said: “Ministers should declare an emergency and ensure councils have the funds to support people, especially those with NRPF.”
Scottish Lib Demleader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “I’m astonished these tragic circumstances are being allowed to unfold on the streets of our capital city. Our country was only too happy to lean on workers from eastern Europe and elsewhere when we wanted them to pick fruit, pack shelves or work in our health and care sectors.
“Now people who have fallen on tough times are finding themselves lonely, cold and cut off from any support. Both of our governments need to show some humanity.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said it “has repeatedly called for the UK Government to allow people with NRPF to access homelessness support”. He added: “Consecutive UK Governments have failed to address this issue and continue to put people affected at risk of destitution.” He said they would use devolved powers to maximise support available within the law.
A UK Government spokesman said: “The provision of NRPF has been upheld by successive governments and maintains those coming to the UK should do so on a basis that prevents burdens on the taxpayer. However, strong safeguards have been put in place to ensure the vulnerable can receive support, including migrants who are destitute and have community care needs or where there is a risk to the wellbeing of a child.”
Repeated attempts were made to seek comment from the owners of the Almond House Lodge Hotel but no response was received.
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