Scottish Government

ASYLUM SEEKERS IN SCOTLAND

CHAPTER NINE: KEY FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS

9.1 KEY FINDINGS

The aim of this research project was to assess the effect of the implementation of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 on asylum seekers and devolved services in Scotland, with an emphasis on identifying good practice which would be of lasting value in delivering services to asylum seekers. Overall, we have found the effects on services and asylum seekers to be mixed. There is much goodwill and good practice, and many asylum seekers have found safety, security and welcome in Glasgow. Others have met with inadequate, insensitive services, and antipathy from local communities. Services have made huge efforts to respond to the needs of this new client group, often in the face of difficult relationships with the central agency and inadequate resources.

We begin this concluding chapter by briefly summarising the conclusions of each chapter, focussing in turn on each of the different perspectives we have discussed. We then go on to consider key issues from the findings, and their implications for policy and practice. The key issues cross-cut the findings from the various sets of data.

9.1.1 Service providers

From the service provider point of view, dispersal brought benefits to Glasgow. These were financial (in terms of the housing stock); increased employment (in refurbishment work and service provision); educational (keeping schools open and bringing in highly motivated children); addressing present and future skills shortages; and cultural (in terms of the benefits of a multi-cultural city).

Negative aspects of dispersal policy identified included: the scale and speed of dispersal; the lack of preparation of services; the perceived over-centralisation of NASS; impact of the process on asylum seekers; and lack of preparation of local communities.

In terms of the development and delivery of services, significant policy development had been required over a short period. This had been especially marked for those services which had not previously worked with this group, and considerable investment had been made. Services which had some experience experienced considerable strain, as their expertise and resources were stretched to their limit. The 'steep learning curve' was experienced by providers in all areas - over the process, much has been learned.

Service providers identified areas in which they felt good practice had become established. These included the multi-agency working, which, though not necessarily operating smoothly, was recognised as the most effective way to approach service provision for asylum seekers. Cultural sensitivity and holism, involving an appreciation of complex needs, were seen to be ideal approaches in delivering services. Community development work was seen as an essential part of service provision and development, especially in terms of tackling issues of racism and harassment. Service providers also felt that learning from the experiences of others, and disseminating good practice were crucial to successful provision in the future.

Problems identified by service providers included some which had been especially acute at the start of the dispersal process, when there had been a lack of co-ordination, and though efforts had been made by agencies to prepare for the arrival of asylum seekers, they had found themselves insufficiently prepared for the range of support that asylum seekers would need. Relations with NASS were widely described as problematic. Agencies had experienced some funding difficulties. In some cases, funding had simply been insufficient for the level of demand on services. In others, no resources had been allocated, and service providers had been considerably stretched. Media activity was seen as unhelpful by many service providers, who had developed media strategies to try and counter what they saw as misinformation, and the promotion of negativity towards asylum seekers. Finally, service providers were highly conscious of the need to address wider community relations issues which they linked with deprivation in some of the areas in which asylum seekers had been settled. They saw deprivation as being more likely to engender racism when incomers might be perceived as receiving resources which local people had not.

Several issues emerged as being of particular concern to service providers. Interpreting, which, despite a recent injection of funds, was still proving difficult to provide effectively. Advocacy emerged as a service which asylum seekers were considered to need, but which was not yet available. Information flows were inadequate, and many asylum seekers were not getting the information they needed, and were sometimes receiving incorrect information from informal sources. Move-on was an issue which many providers felt was in urgent need of further attention as asylum seekers became refugees, sought permanent housing and employment, and became the sole responsibility of Scottish service providers.

9.1.2 Asylum seekers

The interviews with asylum seekers served to re-emphasise the very traumatic experiences which many had had in leaving their own countries and eventually arriving in Glasgow, a place of which many had no previous knowledge and in which few expected ever to be living. They also emphasised that asylum seekers cannot be regarded merely as the passive recipients of services, but that they are active in the process of seeking out and negotiating help, and that they have a positive role in fostering effective service provision and good community relations.

Much of the experience of the asylum seekers mirrored the difficulties which the service providers had highlighted. Though many people were positive about the service they had received, a wide range of problems was highlighted. Asylum seekers had experienced both good and bad in all the services covered, though the education service generally came across as particularly good.

The experiences of the asylum seekers emphasised the vital importance of the early services, the initial advice and introductions to the various relevant agencies. Where these went well, there was smooth progress through the various services. Where they went wrong, there was significant potential for disaster, for the propagation of misinformation, for frequent, fruitless repeat visits to agencies which could not help and whose responsibilities were not well understood.

Key problems highlighted by the asylum seekers included interpreting. There were too many instances of lack of interpreter or poor interpreters, making access to services, gaining correct information and getting help particularly difficult. Effective interpreting and good communication came across as fundamental to a good experience of services and there were indications that for many, advocacy support would also be beneficial.

It was clear that there are continuing problems with racism and harassment directed at asylum seekers, whilst there are also areas in which effective community development work has helped to build up good relations among asylum seekers and between asylum seekers and local communities.

9.1.3 Community groups

The community groups which were interviewed to ascertain wider perspectives in community relations generally confirmed the picture which had emerged from the service providers and the asylum seekers. They repeated the concerns about asylum seekers being placed in deprived communities, and the need to work with wider communities in all areas to promote good community relations. They felt that there was a reservoir of goodwill in many communities, however deprived, and that this could be nurtured and supported. Integration and good relations required work and investment in the view of these respondents. This group was particularly critical of media activity in promoting hostility towards asylum seekers.

9.1.4 Other councils

Three other local authorities were involved in negotiations with NASS to take asylum seekers whose dispersal continued. The negotiations were not proceeding very smoothly, and the problems with the central agency appeared persistent. In terms of receiving asylum seekers, there was evidence that these councils were learning from the experiences of others, and that they had identified good practice which they planned to replicate, taking account of local circumstances. Learning had involved the Scottish experience, as well as work from other parts of the UK. The councils highlighted particularly the community relations work which others had argued was essential, and they were also planning from the start for move-on.

9.1.5 Media

Monitoring of newspaper coverage of asylum seekers over the period of the research demonstrated extensive and continuing media interest. Material on many issues included mention of asylum seekers, and it was often difficult to see why asylum seekers had been seen as relevant to some stories. Specialist coverage about asylum seekers was also extensive, and a large quantity of this material was negative. It was not difficult to see why respondents to the interviews felt that the role of the media had been mainly negative. Of course, monitoring content does not indicate how the stories were received, but the experience of our interviewees has to be taken seriously. They were working in many cases to promote positive images of asylum seekers often against the odds, and feeling the need to have a media strategy which countered the continuing negative coverage.

9.1.6 Good practice

Good practice in the implementation of dispersal, the provision of services to asylum seekers, community relations, and media strategy undoubtedly exists, both in Scotland and in other parts of the UK. Where good practice is implemented, dispersal works; good, effective services are provided and people live in welcoming communities, in the 'safe haven' they need. There is evidence that good practice is being disseminated and followed, though more work remains to be done in this area, and more effective mechanisms to spread learning from good practice need to be developed.

9.2 KEY ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS

In this section, we explore the key cross-cutting issues which emerged from the various sets of data collected for the study, and consider their implications for policy and practice. These issues were discussed at the stakeholder seminar held in Glasgow in September 2002 and attended by representatives of statutory and voluntary sector services and of asylum seeker groups, as well as the Scottish Executive and the research team. In this section, we draw on the research findings and also on the discussion at the seminar.

The key issues are good practice, community relations, information needs, devolved services, the voluntary sector, media and moving on.

9.2.1 Good practice

The following key questions were identified:

The approach taken to identifying good practice involved exploring the perceptions of the various stakeholders in the delivery and receipt of services. It was considered important to identify good practice grounded in all these experiences, rather than accepting at face value the assertions of some service providers about the quality of their practice. Further support for the assessment of quality in practice was provided by the review of good practice from elsewhere included in Chapter Eight. In general, there was no one service, which was an exemplar as a whole of good practice. Rather, elements of good practice were widely distributed across services and service sectors.

9.2.1.1 Multi-agency working

From the service providers' points of view, key elements of good practice included multi-agency working, which had clearly been extensive, though not always unproblematic. Nevertheless, service providers were in general committed to it. Asylum seekers who had received good information on arrival in Glasgow, which ensured access to all the services they needed, provided evidence that where multi-agency working was effective, it resulted in good services. Good services ensured, for example, that interpreting support was readily available, reliable and effective, specific family needs were understood and catered for, health issues were identified and addressed, accurate legal advice supported the efficient processing of claims and so on. Where there were difficulties in co-operation and communication between agencies, problems could result, such as were widely reported for NASS and the local service providers. These difficult relations had produced problems both for local service providers and for asylum seekers themselves.

9.2.1.2 Cultural sensitivity and anti-racism

Cultural sensitivity was identified by service providers as an essential basis for the delivery of services, involving recognition of diversity, varying needs and particular cultural preferences. Whilst commitment to culturally sensitive practice was widespread however, it had not always been realised in practice, as indicated for example by difficulties with the gender of medical staff, and lack of childcare provision for women seeking to study outside the home. Agreement on the need for services to be culturally sensitive also came from the asylum seekers themselves, who stressed, for example, the need for interpreting and support services which took account of different cultural understandings, as well as offering straight translation. Asylum seekers' responses dealt more widely with attitudes, and included accounts of experiences of racism. Many felt excluded from wider social relations, as well as, in some cases, from receipt of services, feeling that attitudes towards them were particularly negative. Where service providers spoke of the need to combat racism, they tended to locate this in wider communities rather than potentially within agencies, though a few were more explicit about the need to combat potential institutional racism.

9.2.1.3 Community development

Service providers, community organisations and the other councils interviewed all emphasised the importance of promoting good community relations. The difficulties experienced in some areas of Glasgow, especially in the early stages of the NASS contract and despite best efforts locally, had clearly had a considerable effect in re-emphasising the importance of work with local communities. The experiences of asylum seekers of racism and harassment on the one hand and, on the other, of building good relationships with local communities, support the view that community relations work is an essential element of good practice. We discuss this issue further below (9.2.2).

9.2.1.4 Disseminating good practice

There was some evidence of good practice dissemination and learning in the Scottish context, which had also drawn on work elsewhere. The multi-agency working had allowed open lines of communication between agencies, and though these involved some tensions, there was a clear commitment towards working together and sharing good practice lessons. Good practice lessons from across the UK had also been taken into account to some extent, especially by the authorities in the process of negotiating new contracts. These authorities were also learning from the Glasgow experience. However, across the UK, consortia have tended to work rather separately from one another, communicating with NASS rather than with other consortia, and readily accessible good practice learning mechanisms do not appear to be in place. These relationships and practices may have impeded the dissemination of good practice to some extent.

There is a continuing need for learning and dissemination. Although current practices derive from and are relevant to recent and current dispersal policy, they also have wider implications for delivery of services to asylum seekers under other policy regimes, and will certainly be relevant for the foreseeable future as dispersal continues, and as refugee settlement proceeds. In this context, the SRIF (2003) report and action plan are to be welcomed for drawing on lessons learned from the process of service provision to asylum seekers, as well as previous experience in supporting refugees, to develop detailed discussion of developing services for refugees and the processes of settlement and integration.

9.2.2 Community relations

The key questions identified in the community relations area were:

9.2.2.1 Need for community relations work

There is much evidence in the report of the value of and continuing need for community relations work, generally adopting a community development approach, especially to combat racism and harassment of asylum seekers. As noted above, service providers repeatedly identified community development as a key element of good practice, involving preparation of communities before asylum seekers' arrival, working with communities to ensure good relations, and combating racism and harassment. From the point of view of asylum seekers, good community relations existed for some, whilst others had been troubled by racism and harassment. The groups interviewed specifically about community relations were involved in grassroots work at a local level and identified further investment in this area as necessary. Difficulties were believed to have arisen from the placement of asylum seekers in deprived areas, and though efforts had been made to prepare local communities for this, many respondents felt that more work was needed.

9.2.2.2 Community development activity

Community development work has to date involved a variety of groups and agencies, each of which has had a particular role to play. They have included statutory and voluntary service providers, as well as other voluntary sector groups, faith groups and organisations such as SIPs, as well as asylum seeker communities themselves. This range and depth of work appears to have positive results, and to be worth the investment of resources it undoubtedly entails. Some work, such as that conducted by Glasgow City Council in preparation for the arrival of dispersed asylum seekers, was clearly planned from the start of the process, and seen early on as an integral part of it. Other work however, such as some of that done by faith groups, seems to have appeared in response to issues on the ground, and in several cases to have severely stretched the resources of the groups involved.

Groups formed by asylum seekers themselves, and subsequently refugees, appear to be especially effective in promoting a sense of security and community which provides a safe basis for building good inter-community relationships. Asylum seekers themselves commented favourably on the benefits they derived from these groups, notably mutual support and self-help, and commented that resources to facilitate this activity would be especially welcome. It should be noted, however, that many asylum seekers did not have access to such groups for various reasons, including small numbers of people from one country being settled in Glasgow, the dispersal of nationality groups across the city and, potentially, their reluctance to raise their profile as a group due to experiences of racism and harassment.

9.2.2.3 Racism and harassment

The experiences of the asylum seeker respondents in particular also serve to emphasise that community relations work needs to include anti-racist activity. There were many experiences of racism and harassment, and service providers recognised these as issues in communities. They commented in particular on the link between social deprivation and the tendency to blame incomers for local problems. Service providers were less likely to locate problems of racism within their own organisations, even though some asylum seekers had felt that some agency staff had behaved towards them in a racist manner. Thus, anti-racist community development work can help promote good community relations, and there remains a need for anti-racist training within agencies.

Calls therefore continue for further community development activity. Some have argued that measures such as befriending services will enhance community relations, especially as issues of refugee integration become increasingly significant. The SRIF documentation (2003) emphasises the need for promoting community development of refugee organisations, seeing these as promoting genuine representation and social inclusion of refugee communities, as well as facilitating inter-community activities.

9.2.3 Information needs

The complex issue of information needs raised the following key questions:

9.2.3.1 Asylum seekers' information needs

The report identifies many areas in which improved circulation of information would counter some of the difficulties experienced both by providers and users of services. The asylum seekers' interviews in particular demonstrated how poor information in many ways could increase calls on services. People's needs had been misunderstood; often, they did not fully understand the remits of different agencies; and misinformation circulated, causing unnecessary difficulties. Such difficulties had transpired most often where the initial information received had for one reason or another not been fully effective.

Excellent information and communication provide the essential foundations for effective services, and nowhere are these more critical than at this initial stage of dispersal, a time which has in the past brought particular difficulties to both service providers and service users, as our respondents described. Much of this difficulty was laid by respondents at the door of NASS, which was felt not to liaise effectively either with local service providers or with asylum seekers themselves.

9.2.3.2 Interpreting

To achieve excellent communication and information, language barriers necessitate a high standard of interpreting. However, the report demonstrated that interpreting was a central difficulty for service providers and users alike. The service providers raised the lack of interpreters as a key weakness of services, and, though noting that matters had improved somewhat since the early days of dispersal, raised questions about quality and availability of interpreters. From the asylum seekers' interviews, there was evidence of poor service, poor quality of interpreting, and the use of untrained, informal interpreters (sometimes family members). Many respondents thus identified needs for improvement in this area, which they recognised as fundamental to the effective circulation of information. In some cases, especially from the asylum seekers' interviews, it was clear that interpreting alone was insufficient, and that advocacy services, which had been found useful by some, might merit further development. Befriending services also require further consideration, for their potential positive contribution to communication, integration and well-being.

9.2.3.3 Promoting good communication

In addition to better interpreting services, especially at initial settlement, good communication and information can be facilitated by the good practice identified earlier in terms of good multi-agency working and good practice learning. There was evidence that councils negotiating contracts were determined to promote these practices. Clearly, moves to improve communication between service providers in the form of working together and disseminating good practice should have a positive impact on fulfilling asylum seekers' needs for effective communication and information.

9.2.4 Devolved services

In the report, there was discussion about the centralised nature of NASS and some of the difficulties this had presented. There was also a wider UK demand that NASS be devolved to operate more locally. The following issues arose in this context:

9.2.4.1 Devolving services

The service providers were widely critical of the centralised operation of NASS, and there were many comments from them as well as from asylum seekers about the difficulties that centralisation was believed to have caused. Many of these were linked with issues of information and communication. There was support for decentralisation, but this was seen to require more of a partnership with NASS, and the development of shared approaches to work with asylum seekers. The councils negotiating contracts, which found SASC helpful, but had experienced difficulties in the constant necessary reference back to NASS, reiterated the difficulties of centralisation. There was a lack of partnership in the negotiations, with NASS being perceived as directive.

Thus, the respondents demonstrated on the one hand some support for decentralisation of NASS, whilst on the other, scepticism about whether this would be effective, as it might not be accompanied by what were seen as other necessary changes in NASS' way of operating.

9.2.4.2 Resourcing devolved services

There is, of course, an inherent difficulty in discussions about devolving NASS, in that whilst asylum is a reserved power, service support for asylum seekers in Scotland falls to devolved agencies in housing, health, education and social services. Devolution of NASS cannot therefore include the devolution to Scottish agencies of the full responsibility for asylum seeker matters - it is a question of having more locally based staff, who are more familiar with local conditions, and who can provide advice and support to service providers as well as asylum seekers themselves more locally, and, our respondents hoped, more quickly and efficiently. Some respondents saw devolution of NASS, accompanied by changes in its operation, as potentially assisting moves towards resolving the funding issues for some of the statutory agencies which had found themselves supplying services without extra resources. There was a view that Scottish Executive involvement in discussions might assist in this process, since it would imply better recognition and understanding of some of the difficulties arising from the particular balance of reserved and devolved powers.

Refugee integration and support is a devolved matter. The interviews with service providers and other councils negotiating contracts indicated recognition of the need to address these issues, as we have indicated. The SRIF (2003) documentation explicitly links consideration of asylum seeker and refugee issues, emphasising that for many agencies, little distinction is made between the two groups when services are provided, and acknowledging the importance of continuity of support when asylum seekers gain refugee status or exceptional leave to remain.

9.2.4.3 Impact on devolved services

The report has investigated the impact of dispersal on devolved services, and has demonstrated the extent of this. Whilst dispersal initially involves housing, and NASS contracts are made with bodies which can provide accommodation, demands are also made on other statutory agencies including health, education and social services. Services are also needed from on voluntary sector organisations such as the Scottish Refugee Council, funded to provide information and support services, and on the wider voluntary sector. The report has shown that in many areas, organisations faced unforeseen calls on their services, which stretched their resources considerably. The 'steep learning curve' identified by many providers is indicative of the demands encountered. From the asylum seekers perspectives, there was sympathy for over-stretched services, whilst also evidence that some people's needs were not being effectively met. Community groups felt that some of the community relations difficulties resulted from pressures on services, including those normally experienced in deprived areas, which were in many ways compounded by the settlement of asylum seekers in these areas. Other councils planned to learn from the problems experienced in Glasgow, and recognised the wider picture from the outset in a way which had clearly been difficult, despite best efforts, in Glasgow.

There was evidence in the report that some impacts on services had indeed been unforeseen. These included perhaps the positive impact on some schools, which had benefited from the arrival of asylum seeker children, whose presence served in some cases to revitalise schools otherwise at risk of decline. The asylum seekers themselves were in general very happy with the education their children were receiving. Less positively, deficiencies in services identified included problems with pre-school education, some communication problems including needs for better interpreting and translation services (see above, 9.2.3.2), lack of befriending services, insufficient legal representation and lack of provision for people with special needs. In health services, asylum seeker needs were calling upon a wider range of services than seem to have been provided with extra resources, such as maternity services, certain specialist services and so on, and these were a source of difficulty.

The composition of the asylum seeker population includes qualified health professionals, who may provide an untapped resource for meeting some of the health needs of asylum seekers. This point is also noted by the SRIF (2003). There are of course issues attached to licences to practice in Scotland, but these cannot be insurmountable.

9.2.5 Voluntary sector

Key questions identified in relation to the voluntary sector were:

9.2.5.1 Demands on the voluntary sector

The report includes evidence of the extra demands placed on the voluntary sector in general as dispersal occurred. These demands fell on agencies which were formally involved in service provision, such as the Scottish Refugee Council, and also on agencies with a more general remit, many of whom had no experience of working with asylum seekers, and others which were already under pressure providing specialist services for black and minority ethnic communities. Where services to asylum seekers provided by statutory agencies had encountered problems, there were some indications that asylum seekers would turn to the voluntary sector. Voluntary sector groups were not necessarily able to cope with the demand, or to provide the kinds of services that were needed - some of the reports from asylum seekers who said they had received inaccurate information related to contact with the voluntary sector. In contrast, there were many reports which indicated that the role of the voluntary sector had been essential.

9.2.5.2 The importance of the voluntary sector

There is also much evidence of the highly effective role that the voluntary sector could play For many asylum seekers, voluntary sector services had been crucial, in providing basic advice and initial orientation, and in offering specialist support as time went on. In the community relations field, the voluntary sector was doing particularly significant work, bringing asylum seekers together with members of local communities, notably in faith-based groups which were an important source of support for many. The community relations activity of voluntary sector groups was also reported to SRIF (2003).

There is also evidence that in many cases, voluntary and statutory service providers can work and have worked together effectively. This was reflected in the service provider, asylum seeker and community relations interviews. The councils negotiating contracts had recognised the potential role of the voluntary sector in their areas, but had not yet fully involved them in the process. This reflected the nature of contract negotiation, rather than any unwillingness to involve the voluntary sector on the councils' parts, and is a further example of some of the difficulties presented by working across reserved and devolved matters, and dealing with a highly centralised agency.

Where working collaboratively between statutory and voluntary sector services is proposed, it is clearly important that activity is informed by the good practice lessons about multi-agency working, communication and information identified earlier (9.2.1.1 and 9.2.3.3)

9.2.5.3 Resource issues for the voluntary sector

The pressure on some agencies, especially some of the smaller ones, had been considerable, and indicated the need for capacity building support, as well as more particular resource needs, such as support for interpreting. As previously noted, most agencies had not necessarily been prepared for their role in dispersal, and had received no extra resources to support the additional demands. Agencies which had received resources also felt that these had been insufficient, and that difficulties such as those experienced with interpreting had been largely due to under-resourcing - it is worth noting that when additional resources were put into interpreting, matters began to improve tangibly, as noted by several respondents.

Some voluntary sector agencies, which had not expected to become involved in asylum seeker support, experienced particular difficulties in terms of knowing how to respond, and having the capacity to do so. Some groups were unable to quantify the extent of calls on their resources, whilst nevertheless identifying difficulties. These included access to interpreters, which was often more difficult and expensive for this sector than for others. From the asylum seekers' perspectives, voluntary sector groups, whilst willing and for many a lifeline as noted above, had not necessarily been able to offer the support that was needed, or to direct asylum seekers towards more appropriate agencies.

9.2.5.4 Special qualities of the voluntary sector

The important role of the voluntary sector is clearly demonstrated in the report, and is likely to continue to be a key element in the implementation of dispersal, especially in terms of the community relations work. As asylum seekers gain refugee status or exceptional leave to remain, the voluntary sector will inevitably be involved in processes of integration (SRIF 2003).

Whilst statutory services can provide basic needs, voluntary sector groups, if properly resourced, can be more flexible and responsive. In many cases, they are also more firmly grounded in local areas, and thus sensitive to local requirements and events. They have the capability to work closely with local people. Some of the potential attaching to these qualities had been realised in the community relations work identified in the report. Support groups established by asylum seekers themselves have already been identified as important (9.2.2.2), and these too are able to respond to specific needs at a local level.

Nevertheless, it is important that the voluntary sector is not seen as substituting for the statutory services. Mainstream statutory agencies will continue to be the key providers of housing, health, education and social services for asylum seekers and refugees. The voluntary sector cannot necessarily plug gaps in statutory service provision which require large-scale organisation and commitment of resources.

9.2.6 The media

Against a background of negative media coverage of asylum seeker issues, key questions about the media are:

9.2.6.1 Media impact

Views about the role of the media expressed by our respondents were overwhelmingly negative, in that the media were felt to have promoted a moral panic about asylum seekers and damaged community relations by promoting negative stereotypes. These perceptions were expressed by all the categories of respondents, including participants at the stakeholders' seminar.

The content of the media reviewed during the period of the research seemed to bear out these comments, in that positive coverage of asylum seekers was the exception rather than the rule. The use of emotive language, gratuitous linking of asylum seekers with every conceivable social problem and so on were widespread.

Service providers felt that their efforts to promote good community relations had been particularly damaged by the media coverage. Community groups were most critical of the media coverage, and felt that journalists representing the national press in particular were interested only in 'sensationalist' stories. Their attempts to issue press releases with more positive stories had not, they felt been adequately covered. Councils preparing to receive asylum seekers had been conscious of the need for a media strategy from the start, and were attempting to work with the local press in particular to ensure that misleading coverage was avoided.

9.2.6.2 Media strategies

Several of the service providers had adopted media strategies in an effort to influence the tone of media coverage in a more positive direction. These strategies had involved significant expenditure of resources, and were in operation over the period of the research. They had been adopted by members of SASC, by individual service providers, local community groups and the councils negotiating contracts.

Some service providers cited more positive stories which had appeared during the fieldwork period, and saw these as evidence that the media strategies were having some effect. They were able to give specific examples of positive stories which had recently appeared.

In the stakeholders' seminar, there was some feeling that the media strategies adopted by many organisations were beginning to have some effect, in that more positive stories were finding their way into print, albeit alongside the negative ones. Respondents felt that there was a continuing need however for organisations to use their media strategies to try and promote more positive coverage, in the interests of better community relations in particular. In expressing this view, they concord with the SRIF (2003) recommendations. However, and this is a point also made in the SRIF report, there is a danger in 'demonising' the media, and blaming the negative coverage purely on journalists seeking sensational stories. There is clearly an audience for these stories, and its existence re-emphasises the importance of the anti-racist approach mentioned earlier (9.2.1.2).

9.2.7 Moving on

The report has covered the impact of dispersal of asylum seekers for devolved services and asylum seekers themselves. Finally, we explore some implications of our findings for the process of move-on, as the population of asylum seekers acquires refugee status or exceptional leave to remain. Some key questions are:

9.2.7.1 Preparing for move-on

There was a widespread feeling that issues relating to move-on needed to be more widely discussed. The authorities considering new contracts in particular identified one of the key lessons from experience to be that this needed to be considered alongside dispersal more fully than had been the case to date. The work of the Scottish Refugee Integration Forum was welcomed, and the report and action plan keenly awaited (SRIF 2003). Issues of integration are discussed fully in the supporting documentation from SRIF - here, we simply identify some links between the Forum's work and the findings of this research.

9.2.7.2 Services for refugees

Many of the conclusions we have drawn about accessibility and appropriateness of services for asylum seekers will continue to apply for refugees. Thus, the need for effective multi-agency working, good information and communication, cultural sensitivity and anti-racism, community development and the identification and dissemination of good practice will continue to be relevant for refugees. Refugees will still face issues in building lives in unfamiliar surroundings, and a need to build and sustain networks of social support, as well as using services.

Changes will occur however, in that refugees will become part of the general population, no longer recorded by a central agency as are asylum seekers dispersed by NASS. They will be less accessible and identifiable to service providers, who will need to ensure nevertheless that their services are accessible to and used by refugees. There are lessons here in work on the development of services which are responsive to multi-cultural needs (Butt and Mirza 1996, Netto et al 2001), and which operate in an anti-racist way. Out-reach work may prove necessary, and refugee groups will need to be integrated into the processes of service development, to help ensure that needs are effectively met.

Attention will need to be given to specific service needs which refugees may have, distinct from other sectors of the population. These may include for example mental health services to cover PTSD, services for unaccompanied young people, services for children who have not experienced normal childhood activities, due to the circumstances of flight from their home countries. All these are identified in the SRIF documentation. At the same time as these specific needs are addressed, there will be a need to promote and ensure equality of access to services, and monitoring of this under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000.

9.2.7.3 The role of the voluntary sector

We have already indicated (9.2.5.4) the continuing role for the voluntary sector in relation to refugees and the process of integration. This role is likely to increase as integration proceeds, and as refugees themselves develop voluntary sector activities. The community relations role of the voluntary sector is likely to continue its significance.

It is important to note that the voluntary sector will need resources to realise its potential integration role effectively. The minority ethnic voluntary sector in particular is under-resourced (Reid-Howie Associates 2000), and much of the work to come is likely to involve this part of the sector, as it has already done.

9.2.7.4 Integration

Integration has implications for all service providers. The report shows that these are being widely considered across statutory and voluntary sector services, in groups working in the community and by other councils which may receive dispersed asylum seekers in the future. Integration of refugees in Scotland will be achieved under devolved powers. This offers an opportunity for Scottish service providers to promote joint working, and to implement good practice lessons already learned from work with asylum seekers, as well as building on good practice in promoting and mainstreaming equality.