U-turn call on free bus travel for asylum seekers

The Scottish government scrapped the scheme as part of major spending cuts

The Scottish Greens will use a vote at Holyrood this week to try to persuade ministers to u-turn on free bus travel for asylum seekers.

The Scottish government axed the policy in August as part of a series of cuts to public spending.

The Greens will use their debating time on Wednesday to argue the commitment should be restored. They believe opposition parties could unite to defeat the minority SNP administration.

The government said it is committed to supporting refugees and people seeking asylum.

Ministers suffered a double defeat last month when MSPs voted for plans to extend free school meals and continue off-peak rail travel to be reinstated.

The votes are non-binding, meaning ministers do not need to act on them.

Green MSP Mark Ruskell says the u-turn would be a "small and compassionate change"

Speaking ahead of the debate, Scottish Greens’ transport spokesman Mark Russell described the decision to drop the pledge on free bus travel as “shameful and deeply disappointing”.

He said: “The Scottish government has chosen to break a promise to some of the most marginalised people in our society.

“The UK’s asylum system leaves people seeking asylum in state-sanctioned poverty - forced to survive on barely £50 a week and banned from working whilst waiting for a decision on their application for protection.

“Free bus travel would be a small and compassionate change that would make a big difference to the lives of people seeking sanctuary in Scotland.

“There has been a long standing cross party support for this change, and I hope that MSPs from all parties will stand together this week in calling for it to be restored.”

Finance Secretary Shona Robison has halted "all but essential" spending to plug a funding gap

The former First Minister Humza Yousaf confirmed the scheme last November and said £2m had been set aside to pay for it.

The commitment followed a long campaign by refugee-rights organisations and a pilot programme in Glasgow in 2023.

However, during the summer, Finance Secretary Shona Robison said spending cuts were unavoidable and ministers were ordered to "constrain all but essential" spending to help pay for public sector pay deals.

A Scottish government spokesperson said: “We are having to make very difficult decisions to deliver balanced and sustainable spending plans for the 2024-25 financial year."

They highlighted that some people seeking asylum in Scotland are still be eligible for concessionary travel schemes, including those under 22 and over 60 years old, as well as those with disabilities.

The spokesperson said: “We remain committed to supporting people seeking asylum, refugees and communities through the New Scots refugee integration strategy approach."

They added that SNP minsters wanted to work with the UK government on making "tangible improvements" for refugees and people seeking asylum.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are fully compliant in meeting our legal obligation to support asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute."

Now operating as a minority administration, ministers are getting used to parliamentary defeats - and it's no surprise opposition parties are seeking to use their debating time at Holyrood to try to put pressure on them.

Both Labour and the Tories have scored victories on issues such as housing and rail fares in recent months.

And while losing such votes in the chamber doesn't force the Scottish government to act, they do give ministers food for thought ahead of the budget later this year.

The government will have to secure co-operation from opposition MSPs in order to get its 2025/26 tax and spending plans through - and that is most likely to come from one of Holyrood's smaller parties, the Lib Dems or the Greens - the latter supporting every budget since 2016.