Nottingham connected
Attendees suggested that more objectivity should be
brought to the process -for example all Home office
asylum interviews should be recorded to prevent the
inaccurate translation of misunderstanding of clients
affecting the collection of evidence for their application
case, and secondly that the judiciary should play a
greater role in bringing accountability of the Home
Office in their decision making, and that there should
be a vrethink of the slashing of English language
provision services (e.g. ESOL) by the government,
which are leaving asylum seekers isolated and unable
to integrate into their communities and use the skills
that they bring with them to the UK to access higher
level jobs which require a good ability to speak English.
DISCUSSION 2 - THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT OF
UK MIGRATION
This discussion sought to explore the positive and
negative socioeconomic impact that migration has
had on the lives of UK citizens and the country in
relation to issues like employment and wages in the
UK, as well as availability and quality of public services.
Guest speakers included Dr Sara Lemos, Dr Simonetta
Longhi, and Dr Greta Moran.
Final Statements and Actions
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Suggestions made included additional voices for
minorities and a more person-centred approach in media
and political write ups that not only humanise but also
accurately and more fairly represent people’s contribution
to the community’s they live in across the UK.
At the same time while immigration does overall
produce positive gains, there is disproportionate effects
where immigration can cause negative consequences
for those already struggling most in our society which
needs to be acknowledged and provided for. E.g. There
can be wage decrease of about 0.88%/annually for
unskilled sectors of our economy for every 1P increase
in immigration which with accumulation and inflation
effects will be felt by those working in those sectors
of the economy. There was also evidence of increased
outpatient waiting times in GP surgeries in deprived
areas as immigration increases because deprived areas
are where immigrants tend to move on arrival, putting
pressure on local services. These disproportionate
impacts allow us to understand why arguments
about immigration’s positive gains do not ring true for
some parts of our community, and rather than being
misinformed or racist - these are legitimate concerns
which need to be acknowledged and responded to.
Attendees therefore suggested that before attitudes can
really change, concrete efforts to offset or compensate
those at the bottom of UK society - e.g. through investment
in areas/jobs when immigration is increasing or decreased
taxing etc need to be made. This will make the national
gain more fairly distributed among communities in our
society and should go some way to providing the material
context for a less hostile attitudes towards the arrival of
more immigrants in some communities.
NOTTINGHAM TALKS
IMMIGRATION FOLLOW UP
INFORMATION PACK
Positives in the current agenda:
Immigration has clear positive effects on UK economy
as immigrants pay more taxes than they claim benefits,
they are young, healthy, qualified (schooled in their
home countries), childless, hardworking, more likely
to be employed and tend to work longer. In contrast
to claims that immigrants take UK jobs and decrease
wages there is little evidence of this in the data
Suggested Improvements to the current agenda
Tacking a UK culture of distrust - evidence wise
immigration does not take UK jobs, decrease wages,
or claims more benefits than they take out - yet
prevalence of these ideas in society. These negative
narratives distort migrant’s clear contribution to the
UK economy, so the need to tackle where these ideas
are coming from in society (e.g. the media and our
political leaders) to present the reality of immigration’s
contribution to the UK in these indicators.
7
DISCUSSION 3 - INTEGRATION IN UK COMMUNITIES
Discussion 3 looked at how well the UK has integrated
increasing diversity in our communities in recent decades;
questioning if and how growing levels of immigration can
be integrated successfully without this process impacting
things like community strength and unity. In particular a
debate responding to concerns about reduced cohesion
in our communities and issues felt to be caused from
eroded attachment to British identity, values and society
under multicultural policy. Speakers included Professor
Tariq Modood, Dr Alita Nandi, Dr Magda Borowska and
youth empowerment leader Bilal Harry Khan.