21.Memorandum submitted by Leicester City
Council
INTRODUCTION
1. The Committee's inquiry is timely and
relevant in an arena where hard evidence is in short supply and
national policy inadequately developed to respond to new realities.
The scope of the inquiry is potentially a vast canvas and this
paper is no more than a focus on a small corner of the whole.
The remarks represent the personal views of the author. As Britain's
most diverse city, the lessons from Leicester may be of interest
elsewhere. Three issues are tackled. They concern the potential
impact on community relations arising from terrorism in terms
of perceptions, problems and possible responses.
PERCEPTIONS OF
BLAME
2. The assassination in Holland of Theo
van Gogh on 1 November 04 was reported to have produced a public
demonstration against violence by 10,000 people. I am not aware
of a significant backlash against the Muslim community. It seems
to be the case therefore that it is possible to respond, or fail
to respond, to the shock of terrorism in such a way that the community's
anger is directed either at the violence, or at the community
from which the perpetrator comes. We need to understand the causal
links between these different scenarios better than we do.
3. The role of community leaders—formal,
informal, civic, faith, the media—is critical. The Leicester
Multi cultural Advisory Group is an informal gathering of such
leaders to discuss on a regular basis potential sensitivities
and how best they should be reported and communicated by all leaders.
It is a model of off-the-record briefing and trust between different
stakeholders in the interests of community cohesion. It has produced
exceptionally constructive outputs time again. A key principle
at work in the group is that any particular community that is
facing current criticism or hatred should be supported publicly
by the other community leaders and not left to defend themselves.
4. Our understanding of this and other mechanisms
for managing public perceptions needs to be developed further.
Common to all approaches must be a commitment to engaging in continuing
dialogue respectfully with the moderate majority of goodwill in
all communities. Dialogue in times of crisis only is of limited
value.
PROBLEMS OF
REACTION
5. A core problem for community relations
that arises from terrorism is the potential trigger for fearful
backlashes. This applies both to the immediate cause of the atrocity
and to the administrative response in the aftermath. Recent experience
in Leicester relates mainly to the latter and I shall illustrate
the problems by reference to the migration of Dutch Somalis to
Leicester since 2001 and its impact in Education in particular.
6. Evidence is notoriously difficult to
come by and therefore the data below should be regarded as indicative.
Some 10,000 Dutch Somalis—EU citizens—migrated to
Leicester from 2001 for reasons, which appear to include:
— a sense that Dutch policies required
the assimilation of other cultures, rather than integration;
— perceived political extremism symbolised
by the activities and assassination of Pim Fortuyn;
— an educational assessment at 11+
conducted in Dutch only that determined later progression opportunities
to university;
— a perception of permissiveness in
Dutch culture regarding eg sex and alcohol;
— an established and thriving Muslim
community in Leicester with faith and cultural infrastructure;
and
— Leicester's reputation for welcoming
persons from abroad and offering them scope for economic and political
leadership.
7. Little systematic research has been undertaken
to identify what works well in integrating sudden new migrations
to a city, nor what are the key danger areas. We do know, however,
that EU enlargement in 2004 creates 75 million new EU citizens,
with 99 million additional citizens in the four candidate countries.
The additional rights of mobility throughout Europe now include
some countries whose economic and political stability is less
assured than others. There is a need for a clearer national policy
to address problems of significant migration that may occur in
the aftermath of terrorist acts, or for that matter environmental,
economic, social and political upheaval.
8. Evidence in Leicester suggests approximately
700 new arrivals in secondary school numbers per annum and a similar
additional number in primary schools. There is virtually no school
in Leicester that does not have to make provision for children
who use English as an additional language. The major languages
are supplemented by a growing list of some 90+ other language
groups.
9. The impact of unannounced arrivals on
this scale and complexity has obvious implications for educational
standards, but almost no recognition in inspections and league
tables. The impacts are felt in staff management and planning,
teaching methods, curriculum adaptation, oral and written translation
and interpretation and home/school liaison. These professional
challenges are compounded by:
— turbulence, as families move around
or between cities to seek better arrangements for housing and
jobs than their first assignment;
— emotional trauma, particularly from
asylum seekers, with consequent pressures on the educational psychological
service; and
— racism, most notably in communities
that feel that scarce resources are diverted to new arrivals at
the expense of the settled communities.
POSSIBLE RESPONSES
10. The responses available to manage mass
migration are as many and varied as the circumstances that arise.
Clearly, it is for Government to determine the extent to which
it permits migration of persons from abroad to the UK. Thereafter,
it is incumbent on the whole community to give a proper welcome
to new communities and recognise them as an asset: we estimate
that there are now 42 Somali-run businesses in Leicester. Once
admitted to the UK it is in everyone's interests to give practical
support through public, private and voluntary sectors and assist
the rapid acceptance and integration of new communities for the
benefit of all. This leads to the issue of costs.
11. The absence of any mechanism to provide
assistance in the occasional circumstances where a community,
usually a city, is expected to cope with mass migration is a potential
crisis in waiting. The pressure put on settled communities by
large sums being diverted from agreed budgets is unreasonable.
Given that no specific funds have been earmarked to support the
manifest transition needs arising from mass migration to Leicester,
the figures given below may be regarded as a conservative response
to the actual needs. Fiona Mactaggart MP, Home Office Parliamentary
Under Secretary, has recently been reported as acknowledging that
traditional funding regimes have not been fleet of foot enough,
and that Government strategies are under review. The evidence
below is intended to be helpful to any such review.
12. Costs of new arrivals are mainly felt
in education, social services, housing and other public services
such as health and the police. Under Section 17 of the Children
Act 1989 Social Services were obliged to cover the daily living
costs of Somalis families until they could claim benefit. Delays
in DWP over issuing National Insurance numbers to new arrivals
prevented them from obtaining work and compounded costs for the
City Council. These were estimated to be £3-400,000 per annum.
In addition, the estimated cost of providing community support
eg youth work, adult education, was around £200,00. The need
for supporting new tenancies in an unfamiliar environment is critical
to family stability. The main funding stream for this work, Supporting
People, is liable to be reduced and this would be most unhelpful.
No increase in the Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant has occurred
to reflect these major changes and stresses. Even the modest £500
per pupil identified by the Home Office for asylum seeker children
(for which EU citizens are generally ineligible) would have generated
£700,00 for our estimate of new arrivals in the current year
alone.
13. The Nationality, Immigration and Asylum
Act 2002 now means that local authorities are not obliged to provide
support to families arriving in their areas. Arrivals therefore
rely for support on friends and families already in Leicester.
This generates additional turbulence costs, which are estimated
to be £364,000 in the current year, and is funded from existing
budgets, as DfES does not recognise turbulence at present. Current
funding formulas mean that new arrivals are not funded even in
their own right for up to 26 months.
15 November 2004
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