History
The following is a brief description of the succesive waves of settlement into the city of Glasgow during the twentieth century.
Settlement prior to the twentieth century- Irish, Highlanders and Jewish
Thousands of Irish immigrants arrived in Glasgow to look for work from the seventeenth century onwards. During the early nineteenth century landowners in the Highlands forcibly evicted their tenants in order to use their land for more profitable sheep farming. Glasgow became home to thousands of Highlanders displaced by these clearances. In the late nineteenth century European Jews settled in Glasgow and communities established in the south of the city still exist today.
Twentieth century- 1940s and 50s: Pakistanis and Indians
In the twentieth century Glasgow became home to immigrants from Pakistan and India who arrived during the 1940s and 1950s. By 1971 there were around 12,000 people of Asian origin living in the city (Edward 1993).
Other settlements during the twentieth century
Polish, Italian and Chinese communities have also established themselves during the twentieth century.
Late twentieth century- Uganda, Vietnam and Balkan conflicts
More recently, Glasgow has received refugees fleeing from dictatorial regimes in Uganda, and wars in Vietnam and the Balkans as part of government planned reception schemes. In 1999 and 2000 Glasgow participated in a programme to receive refugees who had been evacuated from Kosovo. This was a short-term programme, but it helped Glasgow's agencies to build their capacity.
2000 onwards
The dispersal of asylum seekers away from London and the South East to other regions of the UK was introduced under the 1999 Immigration and Asylum Act in order to reduce the demand on areas where there is a lack of housing. The dispersal process was overseen by the then new agency National Asylum Support Service (NASS), which provided support and accommodation to adult asylum seekers via contracts with various councils around the country. As part of Home Office restructuring, NASS ceased to exist as a directorate in 2006 and all asylum support issues are now dealt with by the United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA).
In 1999 Glasgow became one of the cities to which asylum seekers were dispersed. In 2000 Glasgow City Council entered into a contract with the former National Asylum Support Service (NASS) to provide 6,000 units of accommodation to dispersed asylum seekers.
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Last Updated: 06/10/09
