APPG says government must develop a comprehensive and proactive national strategy for integration of immigrants
The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Social Integration had today published a report looking at how the UK's immigration system could more effectively promote integration.
You can read the 28-page report here.
Most media coverage focussed on the report's call for migrants to learn English before coming to the UK, or attend language classes when they arrive.
BBC News noted that the cross-party group said speaking English was "the key to full participation in our society and economy".
The APPG's report follows five months of hearings from social integration experts and visits to communities where immigration has increased rapidly over recent years.
The report makes six key recommendations:
• The government must develop a comprehensive and proactive national strategy for the integration of immigrants.
• Local authorities must be required to draw up and implement local integration action plans.
• Government must reassess its current 'one size fits all' approach to immigration policy.
• For new immigrants, integration should begin upon arrival in the UK.
• We need more and better data on the integration of immigrants.
• The government should demonstrate strong political leadership on immigration in order to build public confidence and facilitate successful integration of new arrivals at a regional and local level.
One of the key arguments in the report is a call to devolve substantial immigration powers to the UK's nations and regions through Canadian-style region specific visas, with quotas agreed by devolved administrations and city regions.
Speaking ahead of the launch of the report, Chuka Umunna MP, chair of the APPG on Social Integration, said:
"It's clear that immigration has impacted on different communities in different ways and the pace of change has alarmed many. The Government has a duty to address the lack of integration of immigrants if it is to address this. Failing to do so has left a vacuum for extremists and peddlers of hate to exploit.
"We now need a meaningful integration programme which works for all parts of the UK and an immigration policy which allows all to celebrate and look beyond our differences - a middle way between the laissez-faire multiculturalism favoured by successive British governments and the assimilationist politics of the French Burkini ban.
"In the wake of the Brexit vote, we must develop a new approach to immigration which works for everyone in our country and helps us rebuild a divided nation - a system with integration at its heart."
The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) welcomed the report, saying it "lays bare how successive governments have neglected to devise or implement an effective strategy to integrate immigrants into this country."
Chai Patel, Legal and Policy Director of JCWI, said: "The Government has focussed all its efforts on making migrants feel that their situation is precarious. It is harder than ever to renew one's visa, immigration decisions are unfair, and appeals to decisions either don't exist or are subject to huge delays. Landlord immigration checks, and other intrusive 'hostile environment' policies increase community suspicion and encourage segregation and a two-tier civil society. Migrants do not feel that the UK is a safe or stable home, and this is terrible for integration.
"We must take urgent steps to maximise the ability of immigrants to contribute to their communities. The report's suggestion that all legal migrants be placed on an automatic citizenship path, and that naturalisation costs be reduced, is an excellent start. The call to move away from a one-size-fits-all immigration policy highlights how vital it is to listen to evidence from local communities and respond to their concerns."
The Refugee Council's Director of Advocacy, Dr. Lisa Doyle, responded to the report by saying: "This is welcome acknowledgement that the UK Government sorely lacks an integration strategy to enable and equip new arrivals to the UK to settle into British life and begin contributing to our culture and communities.
"However, while there are some common challenges; such as being able to access English lessons in the face of swathing cuts to ESOL provision, it’s vital any integration strategy also addresses specific challenges faced by specific groups, such as refugees, who have to overcome homelessness and destitution before even being able to think about rebuilding their lives.
"Targeted advice and support is what’s needed for integration to be truly successful."