Lifting the ban on asylum seekers working is not only common sense but the humane approach.
Asylum seekers are so desperate they are being pushed into exploitation in the illegal jobs market, earning pitiful wages. We are in the midst of Brexit chaos and a chronic shortage of workers, yet we are ignoring a pool of untapped labour.
The shortages have seen companies partially close because they have no one to operate their businesses. If asylum seekers are allowed to work at all it is only after a year and in a list of occupations which includes ballet dancers but not hospitality workers.
More than 80 per cent of the public want the ban lifted, as do employers and recruitment agencies, yet still the Government won’t budge on the issue. The SNP ’s Carol Monaghan MP has proposed a Bill which would lift the ban but sadly it is unlikely to become law.
Asylum seekers are instead left to languish on just over a fiver a day when they just want to work and rebuild their lives. Most have suffered conflict and trauma and the weight of being abandoned without work takes a terrible toll on their mental health.
The vast majority of asylum seekers are given the right to remain after their cases are heard but that can take years. Instead of being allowed to contribute taxes, integrate and rebuild their lives they are left in a hellish limbo.
It is shameful our Government puts its zeal for a hostile environment for immigrants over the needs of both them and the country.
Too long to wait
Scots who need to visit an A&E ward should be advised to check their phone is fully charged beforehand.
Waiting times are at a record high. Figures out yesterday show that more than 1100 people waited more than 12 hours before they were seen. The Scottish Government target is for 95 per cent of patients to be treated, discharged or transferred within four hours.
Last week the figure dropped to just under 65 per cent. It’s not good enough. SNP ministers point out that Covid cases have spiked in recent weeks, meaning staff absences are unusually high.
But the fact remains that problems with the NHS – whether it was waiting times or staffing levels – existed before the pandemic.
If Scots are to trust the SNP on independence they need to trust them to run public services. Getting the fundamentals right should be the priority of the Scottish Government.
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