Refugees and other new migrants: a review of the evidence on successful approaches to integration
Edited by Sarah Spencer
Associate Director, COMPAS, University of Oxford
Contributors
Mark R. D. Johnson (Health)
Deborah Phillips (Housing)
Anja Rudiger (Community relations)
Will Somerville and Patrick Wintour (Employment)
Simon Warren (Education)
Abstract
In 2004, the Home Office commissioned a literature review on the evidence base on successful approaches to the integration of refugees and other new migrants in the UK , focusing on five facets – community relations, housing, employment, health and education. The purpose of the review was to identify:
• the integration outcomes for refugees and other recent migrants on each facet of integration;
• factors contributing to those outcomes;
• the effectiveness of interventions undertaken to improve outcomes; and
• the quality of the evidence base and how it can be improved.
The review, which was completed in 2004, was undertaken to inform the future policy and research agendas, by summarising current knowledge about ‘what works' in the integration of new migrants and identifying gaps in knowledge on which research could focus.
The following key findings emerged from the review.
• New migrants have less favourable outcomes on measures of integration than the UK population as a whole but the experience of new migrants is not homogenous.
• A number of factors contribute to those outcomes, including: lack of language skills and recognition of qualifications; mobility; migrants' lack of knowledge of how to access services; generic systems that are insufficient to meet migrants' needs; hostile public attitudes; and legal barriers associated with immigration status.
• There is some evidence of success from a range of initiatives focusing on migrants and migrant groups, on employers, agencies and the public, and which build bridges between individuals, groups and institutions.
• Three messages to inform the policy and research agendas emerge particularly strongly: the power of providing information for migrants, host communities, the media and service providers; the importance of investing in language tuition; and the need to consider how major data gaps could be addressed.
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