We're deeply disappointed by the Scottish Government’s decision to scrap its commitment to implement the long-anticipated free bus travel pilot scheme for people seeking asylum in Scotland.
In the week that the launch of the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy and Delivery Plan has been rightly celebrated, scrapping the free bus travel scheme is a highly regressive step with real and profound consequences for some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
From our work with asylum seekers, who are often highly marginalised members of our communities, we know that free bus travel would significantly improve their quality of life. It would be a step-change in enabling people seeking asylum to connect with others, access vital education services, and meet with essential advice and advocacy services. The urgent need to make these connections more accessible via free bus travel is underscored by people in the asylum process being denied both the opportunity to work and access to Universal Credit or other benefits while their asylum claims are being assessed, a situation that leaves some people living on as little as £1.36 per day.
We are therefore extremely concerned that the decision to scrap the free bus travel pilot scheme is likely to have a highly detrimental effect on the mental health of people seeking asylum in Scotland, many of whom are already deeply traumatised due to their past experiences, which in many cases will have been exacerbated by the recent racist riots elsewhere in the UK. Piloting free bus travel for asylum seekers is exactly the type of preventative action that can significantly enhance their mental health by providing opportunities to build meaningful and sustainable lives within Scotland, for the benefit of us all. It is unconscionable that this long-promised beacon of hope has been extinguished by the Scottish Government’s decision to cancel the pilot scheme.
Therefore, we're calling for the free bus travel pilot scheme for people seeking asylum to be reinstated by the Scottish Government as a matter of urgency.