This is the history for the submission "Motion by Bailie Anthony Carroll:- "Council recalls the motion as adjusted passed by Council on 11 May 2023 which acknowledged "the immense benefits which could be gained from free bus travel for people seeking asylum…and therefore resolves to support the extension of free bus travel to those seeking asylum". Council notes that Free Bus Travel is available through concessionary cards to anyone aged under 22 as well as 60 and over, regardless of Asylum status. Council further notes an Asylum Seeker in receipt of statutory support receives £49.18 per week to cover all living costs in self-catered accommodation, or £8.86 in catered accommodation, and that 4,520 people are in receipt of support in Glasgow as of December 2023. Council recognises the findings in "The Mental Health of Asylum Seekers and Refugees in the UK" report by Mental Health UK, that "getting out of the house improved their wellbeing, but that affording public transport services was difficult", with 84% of Asylum Seekers and Refugees they surveyed saying that they had "experienced being unable to use public transport because of the cost" in Scotland. Council notes Refugee Survival Trust's 12 week pilot in the Spring and Summer of 2023 providing 150 Asylum Seekers with Free Bus Travel, which was a springboard for the Scottish Government's plans to roll out a national pilot. Council notes its deep disappointment in the Scottish Government's decision to reverse their pledge to provide Free Bus Travel to Asylum Seekers nationally. Council agrees to affirm its support for the rollout of Free Bus Travel through a national concessionary card scheme for Asylum Seekers aged 22-59 who are not covered by existing provision. Council agrees with Maryhill Integration Network on how this announcement is particularly disappointing following the Scottish Government's New Scots Integration Strategy launch, where transport was identified as a key theme to further enhance integration. Therefore, Council requests the Convener for Transport writes to the Scottish Government's Cabinet Secretary for Transport to state Council's support for the free bus travel scheme for Asylum Seekers to ask that the decision to not expand this provision nationally be reversed. Council also asks the Leader of the Council to write to the Secretary of State for the Home Department and the Secretary of State for Transport within the UK Government to request that work is carried out to roll out a free concessionary bus card scheme for Asylum Seekers UK-wide, following the successful pilot in Glasgow."".

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