Memorandum by the East of England Development
Agency
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 In recent years there has been a steady
increase in the numbers of migrant workers coming to the East
of England, making an essential on-going contribution to the success
of the region's economy.
1.2 Following a recommendation within the
region's Social Strategy, the East of England Development Agency
(EEDA) began to develop a research programme focused on developing
a better understanding of the employment patterns of migrant workers
in the East of England.
1.3 In 2004EEDA commissioned London Metropolitan
University to undertake a major research project. The project
made a significant contribution to the development of a strategic
response to the numbers of migrant workers coming to the region
by providing as detailed as possible an account of migrant worker
trends in the East of England; offering an extensive account of
the actual experiences of migrant workers; and presenting recommendations
for public policy intervention at local, regional, national level
and, in some cases, European level.
1.4 The report led to the establishment
of a regional migrant worker steering group, chaired by EEDA.
This group has guided EEDAs migrant worker programme, which has
included the following initiatives:
— An EEDA funded Migrant Worker Information
and Advice Gateway for workers and employers in the region (through
a dedicated phone line for migrants available in six languages,
a phone line for employers and a web portal).
— An EEDA supported regional interpreter
training project.
— An EEDA funded studentship at Anglia
Ruskin University to provide up to date analysis of numbers and
trends in migrant workers in the region.
— EEDA working with partners in the
East of England, Spain, Portugal, Bulgaria and Poland in the only
successful UK application to the "EU year of worker mobility"
to provide "know before you go" information to migrant
workers—linked to the Information Gateway project.
1.5 EEDA is continuing to coordinate the
region's response to migrant worker issues and recently led on
the organisation of a national Migrant Worker conference on 22
November 2007. The conference endorsed EEDA's role in co-ordinating
cross regional and national work in this area. The conference
backed calls for more joined up working across central government
and the regions; for better migration and population data to enable
better service planning and for a national information portal.
2. The effect of recent inward migration
on community cohesion, and public concerns about this effect
2.1 Inward migration in the East of England
has had most impact in areas that have seen a rapid increase in
the numbers of migrants in a relatively short period of time.
Inevitably, this has occurred in communities where there are already
established issues for the local community in: accessing public
services, for example registering with doctors/dentists; employment
or availability of housing.
2.2 Public concerns about migrants are influenced
by many factors. The portrayal of immigration in the media, public
comments from elected and un-elected officials and the perceived
impact that migrants have on public services all play a part;
it is rare that the media cover stories that reflect the positive
impact migrants have on the communities they join. The reality
is that integration of migrants into a community is a complex
issue and one that should be discussed in context, within fora
designed to improve the lives of migrants and the existing community.
2.3 The New Link Project in Peterborough
has a strong record in tackling issues around community cohesion.
This project is supported by EEDA through its investing in communities
programme and is due to be visited by members of the select committee.
An outline document is attached.
3. The role, responsibilities and actions
of different bodies on community cohesion and migration, including
those of local and central government and of employers
3.1 The third sector in the East of England
undertakes a lot of positive work to address the needs of migrants
and the communities that they join. However, the sector suffers
from limited resources and often works within a politically unsupportive
environment. Voluntary sector organisations should be encouraged
to work with each other and to share resources, including information,
in order to promote the work that they do, provide a voice for
migrants and support migrant communities to find and use their
own voice in the medium to longer term. Advice for Life, Community
Action Dacorum and Keystone Development Trust are all examples
of VSOs doing just this.
3.2 In the East of England, in areas where
there has been a greater number of migrants arriving (including
places where turnover is rapid even if absolute numbers are never
very high per se), it has been our experience that local
government has taken some action. Sometimes this has been very
positive and timely and sometimes not. Local authorities should
work with central government and other agencies to plan their
response to the needs of migrants and the communities they live
in for the short, medium and long term. There is a need for local
government to be more proactive in their response and take the
lead in welcoming new arrivals to the region.
3.3 It is widely recognised that there is
an economic benefit to the regional economy as a result of increased
migration in recent years. While this may also have placed some
additional pressure on services it is not by any means the only
pressure that services are under and should not be presented as
such; something which the media are often guilty of doing.
3.4 Local and central government need to
do a lot more to dispel the myths surrounding migration by being
very clear about what is actually happening and putting that into
the wider context. Central government can support this by providing
clearer and more consistent messages across government about migrants
and the contribution that they can and do make to communities
across the United Kingdom. Currently, migration is presented very
much as something that needs to be controlled in order to reduce
the negative. Rather, it should be presented as a prospect to
be managed in order to maximise the opportunities and the benefits.
Local, regional and national agencies should be supported to address
the issues surrounding migration. The new migration department
in the Department for Communities and Local Government is a positive
step and hopefully the beginning of a more welcoming and pro-active
stance by government towards migrants.
3.5 Individual employers have rarely spoken
out about the importance of migration to their businesses. The
single most frequent reason given to us for this is because of
the negative press they feel they might encounter as a result.
Through the experience of EEDA and partners we know that migrants
have provided a pool of willing and able labour that is in demand
in the East of England and in doing so they have enabled businesses
to grow. Employers and their representative organisations are
willing to engage with EEDA on the topic of migrant workers but
frequently feel discouraged from doing so as a result of the media
and political climate.
3.6 Through the transnational project mentioned
above, EEDA has worked with employers to explain the importance
of migrants to their businesses. A DVD is being produced to share
with other employers as a way to disseminate this message. EEDA
has begun working with employers across the region to address
their reluctance to speak publicly on this topic and will focus
its work on this in the coming months. Failing to address these
issues would risk important investment and growth in the regional
economy as businesses may look to relocate elsewhere to a location
where the required labour is more easily accessible.
4. The effectiveness of local and central
government action and expenditure in promoting community cohesion
and responding to inward migration flows, with particular regard
to the following:
— areas that have experienced rapid
increases in new inward migration;
— areas that have a lack of experience
of diversity;
— areas where new migrant communities
mix with existing settled migrant communities.
4.1 As in other regions across the UK, it
is widely recognised in the East of England that multi-agency
approaches are most effective. Often however, funding and resources
target the same areas in the same manner without a great deal
of consideration being given to how agencies and organisations
can co-ordinate their approaches for maximum effect. In the East
of England we are trying to ensure that, as much as possible,
agencies work together to address the key issues around migration.
4.2 In 2005, EEDA published the research
report "Migrant Workers in the East of England", which
identified the five key issues—access to information; access
to services; housing issues; skills issues related to language
skills and difficulties in gaining re-qualifications, and research
related to the level of information about migrant working.
4.3 Resources should be used to bring together
the correct mix of people and skills to appropriately address
the issues faced by migrants and the communities they join. Co-ordination
and co-operation is key; statutory agencies may have the remit
and experience to act, the third sector the community links and
trust that is vital to success as well as flexibility in speed
of response, and the private sector the resources required to
make things happen. Partnerships across all three sectors could
be very effective with each sector bringing a different skill
set to the mix.
4.4 In addition to co-ordination and co-operation,
it is important that action is taken at an appropriate level as
there is a role for national, regional and local interventions.
For example, a centrally (nationally) provided pool of information—in
appropriate languages—that is accessible to regional and
local service providers as well as to individuals would be extremely
valuable. Regional and local services could then provide additional
relevant information for their locality.
4.5 In EEDA we have taken a strategic approach
by addressing the issues raised in research and then bringing
together the relevant organisations to look at those issues in
more detail. This strategic partnership is linked to grass-roots
activity through 13 sub-regional multi-agency fora each of which
comprises statutory and third sector organisations and sometimes
private sector organisations too. Issues and concerns are fed
up to the regional partnership which then raises them with government,
partners in other regions and so on. This approach has to lead
to specific outcomes, eg the pilot information portal project
which is delivered by the third sector and provides information
to migrants and employers through a combination of website and
telephone help lines. Migrants and employers are involved in delivery
and evaluation of the work to ensure that it responds to need
over its lifetime. There is potential for this to become a national
model if funding is made available from central government.
5. The role of the English language as a
tool in promoting the integration of migrants
5.1 English language is vital if migrants
are going to gain and provide maximum benefit from their time
in the UK. It is vital that English language training is delivered
in ways that are of greatest benefit to the learner. This includes
issues of access, content, language of delivery and so on. A separate
document is attached bringing together what has been learned about
this issue in the East of England.
5.2 To maximise the efficiency of English
language learning it is essential that services are bespoke to
local community and individual needs. Often the language learning
service offered is what is available rather than what is effective
or appropriate.
5.3 Many migrants are here for economic
benefit—generally that means employment. Place of work is
therefore a great opportunity for people to learn and to integrate,
perhaps more so than outside of work. While the new ESOL for work
qualifications may be a step in the right direction, they are
not necessarily at the appropriate level for many learners. Often
people want very basic help in order to build confidence to try
speaking English and once they have that opportunity and are supported
to use their new language skills, then they are more likely to
be able to take advantage of the mainstream / off-the-peg courses
that are more widely available.
5.4 Sometimes the initial learning may have
to be 1:1 or in non-open access groups to address some of the
barriers to accessing language tuition that exist. For example,
individuals may have been out of education for a long time or
have literacy difficulties in their own language that need to
be addressed first. Likewise there are cultural issues where,
for example, women may not wish to attend classes at which men
are also present.
6. The impact of recent migration on local
communities, including the impact on housing, education, health
care, and other public services
6.1 If work is to be done on housing then
it needs to look at migration's impact on demand for housing as
well as the supply of housing. A piece of work being prepared
in the East of England suggests that the demand for social housing
from the migrant community is negligible and that the vast majority
of migrants access housing in the private rented sector (PRS).
It also points out that in line with the target of 350,000 new
homes to be built in this region by 2020, in excess of 100,000
individuals will be required to work in construction. Some of
these people will inevitably be migrants. The latest draft of
this work is attached with a final version due to be published
in late February.
6.2 A similar situation exists with other
services. The media has presented stories indicating that migrants
place undue pressure on accident and emergency departments. However,
if new arrivals are not familiar with the GP as gateway to health
services (due to lack of information) it is unsurprising that
they choose to access services via the accident and emergency
unit of their local hospital. Various reports (such as Crossing
Borders, Audit Commission 2007; Migrants' lives beyond the workplace,
Joseph Rowntree Foundation 2007) have shown that the demand for
health and education services is lower among migrants than local
communities because they are generally young and healthy adults.
We should also remember that many health workers are also migrants
and they are needed to ensure delivery of services within the
NHS.
6.3 In all of these public service areas
there needs to be a balance between public perception, reality
and practical solutions.
7. Actions to take forward the Commission
on Integration and Cohesion's recommendations relating to migration
7.1 The single most important action is
for the government to be much clearer and more consistent in its
messages about integration of, and cohesion with, new migrants,
whoever they are and for however long they choose to come and
live and work in the UK. The Department for Communities and Local
Government should be leading on this. What is required is a much
more co-ordinated approach at the national and regional level
with "good practice" being independently reviewed and
evaluated so that it can be identified and promoted. Government
should consider a cohesion and integration impact evaluation of
all proposed action or policy.
7.2 To address the Commission's specific
recommendation for a sample welcome pack—this has already
been addressed in our region. The East of England is due to publish
an interactive guide to welcome packs in late January based on
a review of examples from across the East of England and the UK
in general. Future investment should be focused on providing national
level information centrally and in key languages for everyone
to access. The idea of a national information portal was promoted
at a Migrant Worker conference on 22 November 2007 and was widely
agreed to be a good idea. DCLG could provide seed money to take
this forward by tasking EEDA, who are already leading on this
subject, with developing that national portal in partnership with
other regional and national partners.
7.3 Government policy on the funding of
ESOL should be reviewed. English language training should be delivered
in ways that are accessible and appropriate to learners' needs
and appropriate to their dependence on language for cohesion and
integration, both within and outside of the workplace.
7.4 All government departments should make
their administrative data available to the (soon to be) independent
Statistics Board to facilitate the improvement of population and
migration statistics.
ABOUT NEW
LINK
New Link is a pioneering centre integrating
new arrivals into the Peterborough settled local community. Receiving
around 700-800 clients each month, New Link delivers a range of
services including information and advice, and employment support.
Uniquely, New Link also works with the settled community and other
frontline services staff through awareness training and community
development programmes. New Link also advises central and regional
government, the Police, Health Services and other local authorities
on the successful integration of new arrivals into communities.
Information, advice and guidance
The Resource Centre provides information, advice
and guidance to new arrivals, helping them settle into the community,
accessing services in the city and support with issues such as
employment, training, crime, benefits, health, housing, and immigration.
20 languages are spoken in-house of which the
main nationalities are: Polish (50%), Slovakian (19%), Czech (9%),
Portuguese (7%) with around 280 individual client appointments
being held each month as well as drop-in sessions and outreach
sessions held by, for example CAB and the PCT. 85% of enquiries
are dealt with in-house without need to refer to other agencies
or service providers
Community Development
New Link's Community Development programme assists
New Arrivals to gain contact with people from their own community
or to develop their own community organisations if they do not
already exist. We provide ongoing support and training on how
to establish, manage and sustain a community group. So far, over
20 groups have been established. New Link also works with over
15 Muslim based groups and many more individuals delivering the
Government's Preventing Extremism agenda. In partnership with
Peterborough Mediation and the Greater Peterborough Partnership
working between the settled and new communities to resolve conflict,
improving cohesion and understanding.
Employment and Enterprise
New Link supports both individuals finding work,
and employers finding workers to match the jobs they have. The
aim is to match more closely the skills of workers and the work
available. A mix of individual and workshop support is given eg
compiling CVs, completing job application forms, interview skills.
In addition, consultancy support is provided for individuals wishing
to set up new businesses.
Awareness Training and myth busting
New Link's awareness training programme helps
cohesion between the host community (including frontline services
staff) and new arrivals to the city by providing cultural awareness
and "myth busting". The training has been well received
and is seen as an important influence in encouraging harmony in
the city.
| 
