The Scottish Government’s decision to scrap free bus travel for asylum seekers is, in the words of the Scottish Greens’ transport spokesman Mark Russell, “shameful and deeply disappointing”.
But the decision highlights a wider issue, not addressed by the Greens and which underlines the SNP’s lack of economic ambition.
As well as being sidelined and vulnerable, Scotland’s community of 5,080 asylum seekers contains some highly educated and skilled individuals, who want to contribute economically to Scotland, but are unable to do so because of a work ban imposed by Westminster.
Devolution was supposed to be about equipping Scotland with powers to make decisions that benefit its population, even if they differ, or contradict, those taken at Westminster.
Read more by Carlos Alba
Successive SNP administrations have demonstrated how skilled they are at spending money they have had no role in generating, exemplified by the current £1 billion black hole amassed by the SNP’s largesse.
Its way of addressing the deficit is to pull the plug on many of the spending plans it signed-off on, as well as leaving taxpayers across the board to pick up the tab.
We never seem to hear from SNP ministers any plans to generate wealth, or to raise money other than through taxation.
Granted, many of the fiscal levers required to facilitate a business-friendly environment, including attracting outside investment, are domiciled south of the Border. But that should not preclude them from using the measures which are at their disposal to grow the economy.
Every year, thousands of refugees arrive here with no English. Some gain language qualifications, paid for by Scottish taxpayers, which they are then unable to use. Many more don’t get the chance to learn because there are too many of them and not enough classrooms or teachers.
Asylum........