Asylum seekers in Glasgow will no longer face the threat of eviction by lock change, after the private housing contractor Mears confirmed it “does not recognise” the controversial policy. Mears’ chief operating officer, John Taylor, told a media briefing on Thursday: “We would never change locks on people.” He said that if an individual refused to leave their accommodation after asylum support was withdrawn, Mears would use the court system to move them on while ensuring they had adequate legal advice. “We would try to do this in a sensitive way, and don’t want anyone becoming destitute,” said Taylor. The policy of locking out those whose claims have been refused by the Home Office, leaving them destitute, was widely condemned when it was first announced in July 2018 by Serco, which held the Home Office contract to house asylum seekers in the city – the UK’s largest dispersal area – before Mears. Sabir Zazai, the chief executive of the Scottish Refugee Council, said the pledge was “reassuring for those who live with this fear hanging over them every day”. He added: “People may still be forced to leave their homes as a consequence of Home Office decisions, but it is reassuring to know that Mears will in all cases follow court due process to do so.” Fiona Mcphail, the principal solicitor for Shelter Scotland, which was party to legal action challenging the lock-change policy, said: “The use of lock changes by Serco, Mears’ predecessor, was a stark reminder that people are not treated equally in this country so a move away from this harsh and dehumanising treatment is welcome.” Taylor made the undertaking as he announced that more than 300 asylum seekers who were moved en masse into hotels in the city centre at the beginning of the pandemic will be returning to individual accommodation from next week. He made a further pledge that all those currently in the asylum system would be housed, saying: “No one is going to be homeless, that is absolutely clear.” This was again welcomed by campaigners after the Home Office confirmed on Wednesday that the pause on asylum evictions had been lifted. Taylor also confirmed that cash payments would resume once individuals were back in their own accommodation. In a move condemned by campaigners, all financial support was withdrawn when asylum seekers were moved into hotels three months ago. A 30-year-old Syrian man was found dead in one of the hotels in May after outreach workers raised significant concerns about the spiralling mental distress of residents, who also complained about the quality of food provided, lack of information about future housing arrangements and no money to top up their phones to continue communication with lawyers, or buy extra food, hand sanitiser or period products for women. Taylor acknowledged that “anyone living in a hotel for three months is going to find that challenging” but insisted he “didn’t recognise” complaints about mouldy food, saying Mears workers had talked to residents on a daily basis. He also admitted that asylum seekers were moved into hotels without formally assessing individual vulnerabilities, but insisted that pregnant women, children and others were swiftly relocated. Zazai said it was “unacceptable and almost certainly a breach of the asylum accommodation contract that these assessments were not conducted”. “Vulnerability assessments, even during a public health crisis, cannot be skipped. In fact they are even more critical as we know that people from a BME background are at disproportionate risk of the severe consequences of Covid.”