Memorandum by Professor Richard Black
(Sussex Centre for Migration Research, University of Sussex) and
Dr Eugenia Markova (Hellenic Observatory, European Institute,
LSE)
BACKGROUND
1. The Sussex Centre for Migration Research
is an interdisciplinary research centre, established in 1997,
and focused on research into the experience of migrants and host
societies in the UK and overseas. It carries out research funded
by UK research councils, government, charities and others.
2. Researchers in the centre conducted a
study into the experiences, perceptions, and aspirations of new
immigrants from five Eastern European countries living in the
London Boroughs of Harrow and Hackney, and the City of Brighton
& Hove in 2005. The research also explored how the presence
of these new immigrants—from Albania, Bulgaria, Russia,
Serbia & Montenegro, and Ukraine—affects community cohesion.
This memorandum summarizes some of the findings from this study,
that are relevant to the effect of this recent inward migration
on community cohesion.
MAJOR FINDINGS
3. The East European immigrants interviewed
in this study included both men and women, with an average age
of 34. Most were married or cohabiting, and over 80% of their
spouses were living in the UK. Over half of the women interviewed
were university-educated, but only 33% of men. Nearly 40% had
been working as professionals before migration, whilst a quarter
were students.
4. The immigrants in the study were found
to have extremely high levels of employment in the UK, but most
were working in low skill and low wage jobs—notably the
hotel and restaurant sector, construction or "other services"
(mainly cleaning).
5. Both immigrant and long-term resident
respondents reported quite high levels of social interaction with
each other, and generally with people from other ethnic groups.
However, immigrants interviewed were found to have a relatively
low sense of belonging to their neighbourhood, and few participated
in community activities.
6. Further analysis is currently seeking
to explain these patterns of community cohesion; however, some
outline points can be made in more detail.
EDUCATION AND
HOUSING
7. The immigrants sampled were relatively
well-educated, with 54% having completed secondary education or
college, 40% having University or above and just 6% having no
qualifications. Women were better educated than men.
8. More than two thirds of the new immigrants
interviewed described their level of English on arrival as "none"
or "basic". However, by the time of the interview, English
proficiency had improved significantly amongst all groups, with
men reporting higher levels of fluency than women.
9. More than half of the immigrants interviewed
were living in private rented housing. However, some, notably
Serbians and Albanians, had secured council accommodation, whilst
a small number, notably Serbians, had become owner-occupiers.
EMPLOYMENT
10. Over half of all immigrants interviewed
had entered the UK labour market either in the hotel and restaurant
sector, construction or in "other services" (mainly
cleaning). Employment rates were extremely high amongst the immigrants
interviewed, with just 3.6% unemployed—less than the national
average.
11. However, immigrants were significantly
more likely to be employed in low skill jobs, whether compared
to their own situation prior to departure, to long-term residents,
or to the population as a whole in the localities studied.
12. The majority of those immigrants who
were working, were doing so legally. However, some 64 individuals
were interviewed who were working illegally, many in the construction
sector.
13. Around one in five of the immigrants
in employment reported earning below £5 an hour—most
of them women.
SENSE OF
"BELONGING"
14. Amongst our sample of new immigrants,
only half as many expressed a sense of belonging to their neighbourhood
as amongst long-term residents, and the population as a whole
in the 2005 Citizenship survey.
15. This appears to be a specific "neighbourhood
effect", since nearly twice as many said they did feel they
belong to Britain. Those who felt they belonged strongly to their
neighbourhood had lived there on average 18 months longer than
those who said they did not belong Those who felt they belong
strongly in the UK had been in the country on average three years
longer than those who felt they did not belong.
16. Those with children living with them
in the UK were also more likely to say they belonged, as were
men, those with less education, and those living in council accommodation.
VALUING DIVERSITY
17. Both immigrants and long-term residents
agreed that the neighbourhoods they were living in were places
where different people get on well together—more so than
the population as a whole in the 2005 Citizenship survey. However,
very few felt their neighbourhoods were places where people help
each other.
18. Immigrants were less likely than long-term
residents to say they talked frequently to their neighbours, although
at least half of both groups reported talking to a neighbour at
least once a week.
19. Both immigrant and long-term resident
respondents reported quite high levels of social interaction with
people from other ethnic groups, especially at the workplace.
EXPECTATIONS OF
LIFE OPPORTUNITIES
20. Around half of the immigrants surveyed
reported that they wish to return to their home country at some
stage. However, few felt this return was imminent—just eight
individuals had fixed a date.
21. Age, family status, educational background,
length of stay in the country and intentions for repatriation
were all significant factors shaping immigrants' expectations
of future life opportunities in Britain.
22. Young people also often wanted to get
good education and improve their English language qualifications.
COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION
23. Under 25% of the immigrants interviewed
felt that they could influence decisions at a local level, much
lower than amongst long-term residents or for the UK population
as a whole.
24. Relatively few immigrants interviewed
had volunteered, undertaken an action to solve a local problem,
or had given money to charity. Similarly, few immigrants were
members of an association. Those who were, had mostly joined sports
clubs.
25. Those who had been in the UK longer
were more likely to have joined an association. Also important
in influencing community participation were accommodation status
and language ability.
FURTHER DETAILS
ABOUT THE
PROJECT
26. The study on which this memorandum is
based was coordinated by Eugenia Markova and Richard Black, and
was funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. It was based on
a questionnaire survey of 388 new immigrants and 402 long-term
residents conducted between June and November 2005, complemented
by a range of qualitative research methods. A snowball sample
was used to identify both immigrants and long-term residents living
in the same neighbourhoods, and interviews were carried out in
immigrants' own language by a specially-trained team of immigrant
researchers.
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