Memorandum from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary
of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
CURRENT SITUATION OF MONTSERRATIANS IN THE
UNITED KINGDOM
The current volcanic activity began on 18 July
1995. Following the decision on 3 April 1996 to evacuate the south
of the island, including Plymouth, because of the increasing threat
from the volcano, HMG introduced on 23 April 1996 a Voluntary
Evacuation Scheme. Under this scheme, Montserratians who were
able to travel to the UK at their own expense and who had a sponsor
in the UK could relocate to the UK initially for up to two years
with full access to employment, income support, housing benefits,
state education and healthcare facilities available to UK citizens.
Approximately 1,700 Montserratians took advantage of this scheme.
On 15 August 1997, further scientific advice
led to the decision by the Government of Montserrat to evacuate
areas south of Nantes River. Since there was insufficient shelter
and emergency housing in the north of the island to cope with
the additional numbers involved, HMG, with the agreement of the
Government of Montserrat, announced that those who wanted to leave
Montserrat would be assisted. A special ferry service to Antigua
was established and arrangements were made to provide Montserratians
with temporary accommodation and other necessary living expenses
there. Emergency processing facilities were set up on Montserrat
and DFID based a small team in Antigua to assist with reception
arrangements and to liaise with the relevant authorities and agencies
there. It was agreed that Montserratians needing assistance to
relocate to the UK under the existing Voluntary Evacuation Scheme
would receive their airfares and the scheme became known as the
Assisted Passage Scheme. As at 15 January 1998, DFID had paid
the passage of 2,164 Montserratians who had relocated to the UK.
George Foulkes, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at DFID,
agreed in September to pay return fares to those Montserratians
coming to the UK or relocating in the region, who were in need
and wished to return to Montserrat when conditions allow.
A breakdown by age of persons who have benefited
from the assisted passage scheme has been requested from DFID
Antigua Office.[1]
No breakdown by age is available from Home Office immigration
records for those Montserratians who came to the UK under the
Voluntary Evacuation Scheme.
The exceptional two year grant of leave to remain
in the United Kingdom given to the first evacuees will expire
in April, and the Home Office is currently considering the future
immigration status of evacuees; there is no question of the evacuees
being asked to leave whist volcanic activity continues.
Health
Approximately 150 Montserratians with special
needs (ranging from diabetics to the severely handicapped) have
relocated to the UK. Not all of these have required medical
attention on or after arrival (for example, someone who is wheel-chair
bound may only have required assistance at the airport or suitable
housing). Most special-needs cases have thus been absorbed
into the community.
A special flight was chartered by DFID primarily
for those who were unable to travel by commercial means. A total
of 63 people (35 special needs cases and their relatives) arrived
on 7 November 1997 and were given preliminary medical assessments
in Durham. Twenty-five Montserratians from this flight, including
16 with special needs, presently remain in the Durham area; this
number is decreasing.
Montserratians have access to all available
health benefits in the UK, including chest X-ray if referred by
their General Practitioner. The Department of Health is currently
considering what practical steps might be taken to develop arrangements
for identifying, assessing and advising Montserratians in the
UK whose health might have been affected by past exposure to ash.
Housing
Montserratians who registered to come to this
country under the Voluntary Evacuation Scheme were expected to
provide the address of a sponsor who would be prepared to provide
them with accommodation here. We are aware that some of these
people have obtained social housing (housing held by a council
or a housing association), but there are no records of this.
Under the Assisted Passages Scheme introduced
last August, the Home Office made arrangements at Heathrow and
Gatwick for evacuees from Montserrat to be received and placed
in council accommodation, where they requested such assistance.
Some evacuees continued to ask to be sent to friends and relatives
On 29 October last year, Housing Minister Hilary
Armstrong introduced a special grant scheme to encourage local
housing authorities in England to provide accommodation for evacuees
received at the airports who requested help with finding housing.
The grant is intended to help with the costs connected with bringing
vacant accommodation into use, or temporarily accommodating evacuees
while their new homes are being refurbished. Grants of £1,500
are made available for each unit of accommodation provided for
households accommodated between 27 August 1997 and 31 January
1998. A total of around £400,000 in grants is expected to
be paid in the current financial year. (Ministers are considering
whether the scheme should be continued, and a decision will be
made shortly.)
The main areas of settlement of Montserratians
who have been found accommodation under the special grant scheme
have been Birmingham (77 households), Leicester (64 households),
Leeds (27 households) and Nottingham (18 households). However,
we are aware that many Montserratians who settled in London boroughs
with relatives and friends have subsequently applied for social
housing. The main boroughs where they have settled are Haringey,
Waltham Forest, Hackney and Brent, There are no central records
of the numbers of evacuees in council accommodation in these areas.
A local housing authority to whom a Montserratian
evacuee first applies for assistance under the homelessness legislation
will probably be obliged to secure accommodation for them for
two years (unless the authority are satisfied that there is other
suitable accommodation in the district available for occupation
for the evacuee, in which case their duty is to provide reasonable
advice and assistance to enable the evacuee to find accommodation
him/herself). This is because Montserratians have the same rights
to housing as other UK nationals and are unintentionally homeless
and in priority need of accommodation (by virtue of being homeless
due to an emergency).
It may be necessary for a local housing authority
to provide temporary accommodation until suitable housing is available.
Normally this would be on a short-term basis only. However, in
some parts of London where demand for accommodation is high, it
might take up to a year before suitable accommodation is found.
Travelcare are not directing Montserratians to these areas.
Benefits
Staff in Benefit Agency offices are available
to assist all claimants in making claims to benefits and in completing
claim forms. In the UK, if a claimant needs to request a payment
outside of normal office hours, the Agency have emergency staff
that can be called upon to contact the claimant and make an emergency
payment if necessary. In the case of people such as Montserratians
arriving in the UK from abroad who may need to request Crisis
Loan payments, the emergency staff can be called to the port or
airport concerned. If given advance notice of such arrivals, the
Benefit Agency can arrange for extra staff to be available if
required.
Montserratians coming to the UK have the same
access to the cash limited discretionary Social Fund as any other
applicant. Decisions on Social Fund applications are made independently
by Social Fund Officers. Providing the qualifying conditions are
satisfied, and depending upon individual circumstances, they may
be awarded either a Community Care Grant or a repayable loan.
Both are awarded at the discretion of the Agency and the decision
might be affected by funds available.
Each Benefits Agency district is allocated cash
limited budgets for loans and grants which, under normal circumstances,
cannot be exceeded. However, there is a centrally-held contingency
reserve which can be called upon if a district is faced with additional
expenditure resulting from an emergency or disaster that cannot
be contained within existing budgets. Districts were reminded
of the procedures to be used to access the contingency reserve,
specifically in relation to those coming form Montserrat, by means
of a bulletin issued in October 1997. Three districts have so
far made applications to the reserve; these are currently being
considered.
There is a review procedure for customers who
disagree with decisions made in respect of Social Fund applications
and, similarly, mainstream benefit claimants have the right of
appeal against decisions made by Adjudication Officers.
One particular concern is the provision of accommodation
without furniture. Travelcare are no longer directing evacuees
to Local Authorities who are unable to provide furnished accommodation,
by whatever means.
As one of the conditions for receiving Child
Benefit, a person and the child for whom they are claiming must
ordinarily have been resident in the UK for more than 26 weeks
in the 52 weeks prior to claiming. However, if a person is receiving
Income Support, any allowance for a child includes an additional
amount which exceeds Child Benefit, which is paid until that benefit
is claimed. Once Child Benefit is in payment and if Income Support
is still in payment, the latter will be reduced by the amount
of Child Benefit awarded.
People who come to the UK and start work and
begin to pay National Insurance Contributions may claim Child
Benefit before they have been resident in the UK for 26 weeks.
Unfortunately it is not possible to provide
an answer regarding numbers of types of relocated Montserratians
claiming Social Security benefits, as the Committee requested.
There are no means of identifying solely these claims in the statistical
records kept by the Benefits Agency because Montserratian claims
to benefits are processed in the same way as claims from other
people.
Education
The Further Education Funding Council (FEFC)
allows colleges to treat individuals from Montserrat, admitted
to the UK as a result of the emergency situation, in the same
way as "home" students for funding purposes. This means
that students aged 16-18 on full-time programmes are not charged
a fee and the FEFC meets the cost to the college.
In the case of adults, the FEFC works on the
expectation that they will pay a fee contribution set by the college.
However, the Council has a voluntary fee remission
policy whereby colleges remit the fee in the case of students
who are in receipt of job-seekers allowance or means-tested state
benefit (including the dependants of such people) and colleges
then claim the equivalent amount from the Funding Council.
In Higher Education, there is no such flexibility.
Montserratians arriving as a result of the crisis are unable to
fulfil a three year residency criteria in order to qualify as
"home" students for fee purposes. Therefore, on 22 October
1997, the Secretary of State for Education created the Montserrat
Emergency Awards Scheme. Under this scheme, a compromise fee averaging
£4,400 per year is available. In addition, Montserratians
can receive a grant for maintenance of £3,500 per year. Effectively,
this puts them on a financial par with "home" students.
Montserrat Project
Following discussions with voluntary agencies
and Montserrat Community groups, Home Office Ministers agreed
that they would fund a community support project for Montserratian
evacuees. The project is managed by Refugee Action, supported
by an advisory council of the Montserrat Organisations, Refugee
Council and the British Red Cross. The Montserrat Project started
work on 12 January. It consists of three teams of advice and development
workers (covering London and the Midlands), a peripatetic team
of sessional workers and training and expenses for volunteers;
a total of 18 full-time workers. The project is designed to mesh
with the arrangements which the Home Office has put in place through
Travelcare to assist evacuees with housing at the initial point
of arrival in the United Kingdom. The aim of the project is to
help relocated Montserratians access statutory benefits and services
and to support, develop and co-ordinate the work of the volunteers
in the Montserratian communities who are helping the evacuees
to settle in the United Kingdom.
There is also a leaflet "Moving to the
UK: your questions answered" which is distributed on Montserrat
to those registered with the Relocation Office and is also available
through support groups in the UK. This leaflet, produced by the
Home Office, advises Montserratians of the benefits to which they
are entitled and how to obtain them.
Baroness Symons
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
9 February 1998
1 See Annex A p. 4. Back
| 
