Are Post-April 2000 Asylum Seekers Entitled to Local Authority Support?
Single adult asylum seekers are only entitled to local authority support if their needs arise otherwise than solely because of destitution or its physical effects, or, if they become failed asylum seekers, where it would be necessary to provide support to avoid a breach of their Convention Rights.
Young unaccompanied asylum seekers are entitled to receive the same local authority support as any other young person in local authority accommodation, and should be treated as a 'looked after' child.
The position for families is complex, because the local authority duties to children sometimes overlap with NASS duties, and at other times replace local authority ones.
The issue is complicated further when a family becomes a failed asylum seeker family, as they can sometimes get local authority support after NASS support has gone (this is explained in more detail in the Children Scotland Act Immigration Acts interface paper).

