Scottish Government

CHAPTER TWO: BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

Refugees and Scotland

Refugees have been choosing Scotland as their home for millennia and many have settled successfully. In the recent past, for example, Chileans arrived in the 1970s, Vietnamese in the 1980s, Bosnians and Kosovars in the 1990s (with Glasgow City Council providing a service that was widely regarded as a model for the rest of the United Kingdom).

Before the dispersal policy was implemented, about 200-300 asylum seekers a year arrived in Scotland independently, with just over half residing in Edinburgh and the rest in Glasgow and other towns and cities ³. The contract that Glasgow City Council has with NASS is to provide 2,000 family and 599 single units of accommodation to asylum seekers. This is currently the largest such local authority contract in the United Kingdom.

Estimates suggest that around 75% of those housed in Glasgow get a positive decision and about 40% of these elect to stay in the city ⁴. There is now some anecdotal evidence of other successful refugees coming to Scotland, and Glasgow in particular, because of the reputation for good services built up in key areas of integration such as health, education and employment. Most come to the area to work. About 200 asylum seekers also live across Scotland receiving "subsistence only" support, because they are staying with friends or family and have no need of accommodation. There is no information kept about where asylum seekers who choose not to access accommodation or support live.

Some of those seeking refugee status are children and young people who arrived in the UK alone, known as "unaccompanied asylum-seeking children". They are accommodated and cared for by social work services departments and are usually granted leave to remain until they are 18, when they can apply for asylum in their own right. It should be noted, however, that the Westminster Government in its five year plan for immigration and asylum, Making Migration work for Britain (February 2005) has stated its intention to proceed with initiatives that seek to reunite unaccompanied minors with their family.

In Scotland in 2004, the largest national groups placed by NASS were Turks, Somalis, Pakistanis, Iranians, Iraqis, Sri Lankans (Tamils) and Afghans. The majority of those applying for asylum in the United Kingdom are young men, but due to the type of accommodation provided, the majority of asylum seekers in Scotland are in households with children.

A skills audit report undertaken on behalf of the Scottish Refugee Council and the Scottish Executive (Charlaff et al, 2004) gives a useful picture of the types of people now settling in Scotland:

• The findings indicate that refugees and asylum seekers living in Scotland are, for the most part, well-qualified and possess a broad range of technical and professional skills which could potentially be utilised by the Scottish labour market.
• The skills and experience respondents had gained and developed in employment before coming to the UK were varied. They included highly specialised skills in areas of medicine (for example, surgical skills and skills in midwifery, obstetrics and gynaecology), law and engineering.
• Respondents also variously indicated that they had management experience, had worked in social and economic development, had trades skills (such as carpentry and building) and IT experience.
• The Audit identified 90 languages spoken with varying degrees of proficiency by respondents.
• Sixteen per cent of respondents indicated that they could speak English "fluently" with a further third indicating that they could speak English "fairly well".
• Just over 95% of respondents indicated that they had experienced some kind of formal education.
• Over 55% of respondents indicated that they had completed a college education (or an equivalent) where they had studied subjects such as languages, business, mathematics, and IT.
• Approximately 21% of respondents indicated that they had completed university level education where they had studied subjects such as Business, Medicine, Social Sciences, Education and Law.

Like many migrants to Scotland, refugees thus bring skills and experience to a labour market that needs them.

Refugee Integration in Scotland

As stated above, the Scottish Refugee Integration Forum was set up in 2002 and produced an Action Plan ⁵ to promote and develop refugee integration. A progress report was also published in early 2005 by the Scottish Executive ⁶.

The key actions in the Plan relating to housing are that:

(21) A pathfinder project should be designed and developed in Glasgow to ensure that all people have access to independent support, advice and advocacy, to enable them to access appropriate housing. The project should provide "floating" support in the form of a proactive outreach service to people who receive positive decisions. This should be funded through "Supporting People" and should be evaluated.

(22) All housing legislation and guidance should be proofed to take account of the barriers which refugees face, and housing services should ensure that issues relating to refugees are mainstreamed. To facilitate this, a checklist of potential evidence of mainstreaming and proofing should be prepared, which might include examples such as:

• The new Code of Guidance should refer specifically to refugees and should identify them as a vulnerable group in priority need.
• The Code of Guidance should reflect that refugees should not be deemed to have a local connection with their dispersal area.
• Homelessness and housing strategies should include reference to refugees and should be assessed by the Scottish Executive on the degree to which they do so.
• Refugees should be given more than one offer of housing and the offers made should be reasonable and appropriate, with, as the Homelessness Task Force suggests, all reasonable efforts made to meet the preferences of the person concerned. The Scottish Executive should take steps to identify that this is being implemented.
• Temporary housing should not be used for permanent re-housing unless, following assessment and information, a refugee has expressed a preference for this. The Scottish Executive should take steps to identify that this is being implemented.
• Communities Scotland should seek the views of expert groups about the relevance of refugee issues in local authority areas identified for inspection.

(23) The Scottish Executive should commission a third party to develop a report which will outline a basic service specification of what should be expected in the provision of housing support and services to refugees. (This should include the identification of practice points and issues.) This should be followed by an assessment of current provision, with a 12-month follow-up study being undertaken to highlight developments undertaken and further actions required.

(24) Ongoing work should be undertaken to ensure that services are provided to meet refugees' needs in all relevant parts of Scotland, and that these are fully funded, comprehensive and appropriate.

(25) All local authorities and housing associations should ensure that their housing advice, information and allocation policies, procedures and practices take account fully of the rights and needs of refugees. These services must be fully accessible to refugees, and staff should be provided with appropriate training and guidance to ensure that provision is based on a thorough understanding of the issues.

(26) Every refugee, on being granted refugee status, should have sufficient information provided to them to enable them to understand the housing and welfare benefits systems. Such information should be an integral part of provision within any "Welcome Pack". Information should be made available in appropriate languages and in a range of formats (including verbal, written and internet-based information).

A number of steps have been taken to address integration priorities in the housing and other areas.

Some of these relate to changes to the Code of Guidance and the proofing of legislation to ensure the needs of refugees are taken into account. The Progress Report states that

"In practice this should mean that when local authorities are developing their housing and homelessness strategies the needs of refugees are taken into account routinely, along with the needs of other sections of the community; and that when a person with refugee status in Scotland looks for a home, or considers moving home, he or she knows they have the same choices and opportunities as everyone else."

A number of changes to the Code have taken place to take account of the recommendations in the Action Plan. These include:

• Guidance on homeless strategies stating that "the strategy should ensure that the particular needs of asylum seekers and refugees are recognized and addressed, and that appropriate provision, and assistance to access that provision, is available."
• Refugees being provided with more than one offer of housing.
• A recommendation that temporary housing should not be used for permanent re-housing unless the refugee opts for this choice.

The Scottish Executive, Communities Scotland and the voluntary sector collaborated to produce a "Welcome Pack" to assist local authorities and other providers of services in tailoring advice, information and guidance to refugees. It also details potential sources of relevant information on housing and welfare benefits, education, health, vocational training and employment opportunities.

The importance of access to advice on housing options to enable refugees to make informed choices has been recognised within the Action Plan and subsequent Progress Report. Both the Scottish Refugee Council and Positive Action in Housing ( PAiH) are funded by the Scottish Executive to deliver a variety of (outreach) advice and training services. In the year 2003/4 390 clients accessed the PAiH housing advice service and around 700 were assisted by the Scottish Refugee Council.

Asylum seekers and refugees in areas where communities are more established often seek advice and information from refugee-led community organisations. Many refugees' first port of call in the UK is a community-run organisation. These often start as associations and develop advice and support services in response to needs. Some have set up training programmes, housing associations and a variety of specialist provision, for example, for older people. Others are the focus for cultural activity and ensuring that children do not lose their identity in their new homes. Many offer informal interpreting and support that has become a vital part of the safety net for the more vulnerable new arrivals. In Scotland, the Scottish Refugee Council is providing facilities, guidance and support to a range of embryonic groups that will eventually assume a greater role in meeting the needs of refugees within a culturally sympathetic environment.

Within the broader context of refugee integration, the Scottish Executive set up the Scottish Refugee Integration Fund in 2003. By next year the Fund will have distributed approximately £1 million to organisations in the voluntary sector engaging refugees in a wide range of different activities and providing training and support to agencies working on behalf of refugee users.

The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities ( COSLA) has established a Refugee and Asylum Seeker Consortium⁷.

The Consortium's objectives are:

• To promote the national service which the Consortium provides to local authorities, Government, statutory agencies and the voluntary sector
• To better co-ordinate the activities of local authorities and protect their interests
• To provide a strong collective voice for local government and the Consortium in negotiations with the Home Office
• To secure support from the Scottish Executive for the role of local government and the Consortium in ensuring that refugees can help Scotland to balance its skills gap and declining ageing population
• To ensure that local authorities, Government, statutory agencies, the voluntary sector, and the Consortium are able to work together in common purpose
• To facilitate the provision of services to asylum seekers and the integration of refugees into communities
• To develop and implement an effective communications and media strategy for asylum and refugee issues

All of the objectives of the Consortium are intended to carry equal weight.

In addition to actions relating specifically to Scotland, the Home Office funds many projects to assist refugees, principally through the following:

• The Challenge Fund which distributed £3 million across the UK in 2004, to projects undertaken by voluntary, community and statutory organisations, to address specific social needs among refugee communities, with an emphasis on innovation
• The European Refugee Fund which offers matched funding for projects in the areas of reception, integration and voluntary return, and distributed £7.5 million in 2004
• The Refugee Community Development Fund which offers grants of up to £10,000 to refugee run community organisations for capacity building, providing new services and building community relations

The Home Office has produced a Refugee Integration Strategy - Integration Matters over 2005/06. Within three major themes, Achieving Full Potential, Contributing to Communities and Access to Public Services, proposals are made in a number of areas, including to housing and inter-related issues. SUNRISE (Strategic Upgrade of Refugee Integration Services) is the centrepiece of the strategy and aims to offer each refugee an intensive and holistic casework service immediately after a positive decision to enable them to access mainstream services including housing and secure employment or appropriate training. Other measures include the Refugee Integration Loan which is an interest free advance designed to be used by the refugee on items or services that will facilitate their integration. A mix of initiatives intended, for example, to foster enhanced community relations and build capacity of refugee community organisations are all part of the Strategy.

In improving refugee access to appropriate accommodation the Home Office aims to "make sure that the role of accommodation providers, one stop shops and local housing authorities is clear in terms of provision of advice and housing." The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will act to raise the profile of Supporting People in providing housing related support to refugees and clarify the potential contribution from local authorities in this regard.

Refugee needs and barriers to integration

Existing research has identified a range of common needs that local authorities may wish to consider in taking account of refugees in homelessness and race equality strategies.

As an introduction and in broad terms, the Chartered Institute of Housing has categorised the main barriers to successful refugee integration which local authorities may also take into account in influencing how they structure or adapt their services for the benefit of refugees within their area ⁸. These are:

• delays in dealing with asylum claims (although these are improving)
• the limited time between claim determinations and removal of NASS support
• delays in notifying local authorities about decisions
• pressures on permanent accommodation in many areas (and competition with the needs of the indigenous community)
• cluster areas coinciding with other significant migration
• possible tensions between refugee groups, and with established BME groups, due, for example, to refugees coming from both sides of a conflict or when resources are scarce
• a lack of support services, promotion of good practice and skilled staff
• a lack of promotion of good practice in preparing communities to receive/integrate refugees
• inconsistent treatment of refugees by different local authorities in terms of allocations and homelessness
• delays in National Insurance numbers being allocated, and
• a lack of coordinated working between accommodation providers and local authority homeless departments.

Needs identified in the literature can be divided into general needs that all newly arrived migrants are likely to share, needs that are more likely to be shared by refugees and needs that female refugees may have as a result of their particular experiences. Whilst the needs identified here are not exclusively housing related, local authorities should be aware of them so that a holistic approach to addressing them can be taken. For example, if council officers who offer advice and support to a refugee on his or her housing options can also refer them, when appropriate, for psychiatric counselling there is a better likelihood that they will be able to manage their tenancy more effectively. It is also important to take into account the need for coordination and cooperation with all relevant agencies and especially with local communities when structuring services for refugees.

General needs identified by the literature often relate to being unfamiliar with official systems, being unable to speak English ⁹ and the need for orientation into new surroundings. Key identified needs include:

• A need to understand how the housing and welfare systems work in Scotland
• A need for advice and assistance in seeking and securing employment or in re-qualifying or validating their qualifications (Shiferaw & Hagos, 2002)
• A need for interpretation and translation to be able to access the services they need
• A need for orientation to their new surrounding and befriending services offered by the local community
• A need to receive fair treatment without discrimination in attempts to access services

Research by Lemos & Crane (2004) into minority ethnic homelessness in Glasgow found that "Lack of familiarity with the country and its official systems compounded the difficulties participants faced in obtaining support: 'it involved a lot of walking…I had to find the right office'."

The literature identifies a wide range of needs that are specific to refugees or needs that are compounded by the experiences of refugees. Some of these relate to the transition from NASS accommodation to other housing:

• A need for support in managing tenancies, utilities and other services due to the length of time spent in the asylum support system ( NASS)
• A need to access coordinated advice and support to find housing within a short timescale following notification of the Home Office decision confirming their status and thereafter to take informed decisions about their housing options and understand their housing rights and responsibilities.

Research by Netto, et al (2004) notes that "A couple of refugees commented that the 'hand-over' to Glasgow City Council once they had received a positive decision was too sudden. One refugee commented that 'that gap is too wide', another, that 'that gap is not easy if you are not a good survivor'." Refugees have consistently recorded problems of being referred from one officer to another in their attempts to access local authority and other services.

Other needs relate to the requirement for appropriate accommodation in appropriate areas:

• A need to be housed in appropriate accommodation and to avoid, in particular, being accommodated temporarily in hostels
• A need for protection should they become the focus for racial harassment in the areas where they choose to make their home ( ICAR, 2004)

In terms of priority, a survey of the refugee community conducted by MORI on behalf of the Home Office revealed that 64% of respondents felt that their housing was the area of their lives most in need of improvement (Peckham et al, 2004). Similarly, "feeling satisfied with various aspects of housing was the factor most strongly associated with a good quality of life" (ibid). This demonstrates the central importance placed on housing by refugees.

This finding is further borne out by another study on behalf of the Home Office which focused on what local populations, both refugees and non-refugees, identified as indicators of integration and the extent to which they were present locally i.e. the extent to which integration was being achieved (Ager & Strang, 2004).

"Housing … was seen as an area which could facilitate - or disrupt - the process of integration. Both the permanence of housing arrangements and their location was seen to influence processes of integration through the sorts of relationships that were available as a result" .

Some of the needs identified in the literature relate specifically to refugees' previous experiences or their status as refugees:

• A need for understanding of their possible lack of trust of people in "authority"
• A need for assistance in arranging for family members to join them in Scotland once they have obtained refugee status (Nys, 1996)
• A need for psychological support and other mental health services
• A need for intensive tuition in English language
• A need for additional support for young people who have arrived as unaccompanied asylum seeking children

Often refugees have fled from countries where the "authorities" are hostile, corrupt or part of the problem, and so they may find it difficult to approach or trust people in similar roles in Scotland (Finlay & Reynolds, 1987). Repression, genocide and flight fracture families and remove support networks. Refugees may be suffering from the experiences of repression, torture, flight and loss ¹⁰. Studies indicate that one in six refugees has a physical health problem severe enough to affect their life and two thirds have experienced anxiety or depression (Burnett & Peel, 2001). Refugees may find it more difficult to learn English or adapt because of their previous experiences (Bloch, 2002). Young people who have arrived as unaccompanied asylum seeking children may have specific additional needs due to the loss of their parents (Bolloten 2004) .

The literature suggests that female refugees have specific needs, relating to their previous experiences. These include:

• A need for some refugee women to receive psychiatric and other counselling due to the effects of sexual violence that often forms a part of human rights abuses or genocide (Immigration Law Practitioners Association, 1997)
• A need for protection for women and children from violence perpetrated by some male refugees who have been political prisoners or subjected to human rights abuses (Refugee Action, 2002),
• A need for greater protection for female refugees who, the research shows, can be particular targets for racial harassment (ibid)