Scotland’s First Minister attends safety workshop helping refugees and asylum seekers

Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf saw first-hand a new initiative for keeping vulnerable people safe in Glasgow’s biggest area for housing refugees and asylum seekers.

Safety Awareness Glasgow is delivering a series of electrical safety awareness workshops and giving out free electrical safety tips booklets to new residents in the Ibrox, Govan, Elder Park, and Linthouse areas of the city.

Mr Yousaf, leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and constituency MSP for Glasgow Pollok, visited one of the workshops, held at The Pearce Institute in Govan on Friday, March 8.

He says: “I am delighted to see such an important project in the community, helping new arrivals settle in and learn some vital skills about the risks posed by electricity. This work by Safety Awareness Glasgow in supporting refugees and asylum seekers helps celebrate the strength that diversity brings to our communities, which is close to my heart.”

Supported by funding from leading charity Electrical Safety First, the community group says it noted worrying increases in the risks of electrical fires at the flats where some of the asylum-seeker and refugee families stay.

Funmi Fajemiseye, Project Coordinator at Safety Awareness Glasgow, says: “We saw that individuals are resorting to buying cheap electrical items due to having little or no disposable income with the cost-of-living crisis.

We are usually one of the first points of call to new arrivals in the community. But we have found many of them are not aware that cheap electrical items could be sub-standard or counterfeit.”

She added: “They think they are getting a good deal until it gives them an electrical shock or burns them. Many have not lived in an urban setting before coming to the UK to seek asylum, so they have no or very little awareness of electrical safety.”

The language barrier can also be an issue as most electrical items have user instructions written only in English which leads to potential misuse. Therefore, as part of the educational workshops, translated booklets will be provided to ensure low English proficiency is not a barrier to effective delivery.”

The project funding comes from the Electrical Safety Fund, a major annual grant scheme from Electrical Safety First which helps those most vulnerable to electrical risks in their homes.

It provides £250,000 annually shared between dozens of local community projects across the UK that aim to reduce electrical risks in the home.

More than two-thirds of all domestic fires in Scotland are caused by electricity, with most of those arising from electrical products. 

Wayne Mackay, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at Electrical Safety First, says: “Electrical safety risks have been exacerbated in recent years by several wider factors, including the cost-of-living crisis, rocketing inflation, and rising energy prices.” 

We are delighted to be funding projects that seek to keep people safe in their homes, with a focus on tackling risks associated with electrical products, increasing the public’s awareness of electrical safety, and promoting changes in behaviour.”