A minister for refugees is needed to break down barriers to integration
4 min read
The APPG for Refugees report suggests that a minister for refugees could provide the coordination required to implement a new integration strategy.
What does it mean to be welcomed? This question was at the heart of the inquiry for the All Party Parliamentary Group for Refugees Report, 'Refugees Welcome?' on which I had the privilege to serve.
It was often disturbing to hear the stories of those who, often having experienced years of difficulty as asylum seekers found the joy of being finally given refugee status taken away by the poor ways they were then treated. As a nation we had agreed they deserved to be fully welcomed; but our systems often left them bereft and destitute. As the report makes clear we have work to do as a nation to ensure that those we have agreed are refugees and whom we believe have much to offer our land are made truly welcome.
The report revealed that our government has no official answer to the question of what it means to be welcomed or a plan as to how ensure that refugees received this welcome. The absence of a UK-wide integration strategy means that the experience of refugees is often not shaped by a vision for their successful integration and flourishing, but is instead governed by the unintended consequences of other aspects of government policy. Evidence demonstrates that integration strategies improve outcomes for refugees and the communities that they join. The panel heard that simply the process of designing a strategy in Scotland had made an impact, by getting buy-in from a range of stakeholders.
The question of welcome and integration is immensely complex. Our report highlighted six areas that an integration strategy must engage with; transition from asylum support to other forms of financial support and accommodation; ESOL provision; employment and training; health and wellbeing; access to education; and community empowerment.
For each area, we heard evidence of a series of barriers to integration that a strategy could and should do something about. For example, once someone has received their refugee status, they currently have 28 days before their asylum support ends. The inquiry heard overwhelming evidence to suggest that this time was not long enough for refugees to ‘move on’ to alternative forms of support and income. Delays in the arrival of Biometric Residence Permits and National Insurance Numbers are among 23 different factors that the British Red Cross identified as frustrating this transition. With the introduction of Universal Credit- and the 42 days between applying for it and receiving it- it will be impossible for many refugees to avoid destitution. Hence our call for a 50 day period.
We need a common approach across government and that is why the report recommends a minister for refugees to implement the integration strategy. We are fortunate to have many parliamentarians across both houses and all parties who are passionate about welcoming refugees. But coordination and the necessary improvements between the Home Office, the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department of Education, the Department of Health, and DCLG will not take place without a minister fighting for them. Refugees need someone empowered to champion their cause in government.
A minister for refugees will find a partner in the church. It was heartening for me to see evidence of the work of churches and individual Christians during the course of the inquiry. We join other faith and civic communities in being committed to playing our part in improving the welcome offered to refugees. We are not simply asking the government to do something for us, though obviously this report does recommend specific action from the government. Instead, this report is an invitation to work together, so that the whole of British society can benefit from the full contribution of those whom have chosen Britain and have been chosen by Britain.
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