Scottish Migrants Network

Conference2011

Scottish Storytelling Centre Edinburgh

www.scottishmigrantsnetwork.org.uk

© Scottish Migrants Network (SMN) 2012 – www.scottishmigrantsnetwork.org.uk Design: www.contextdesigns.co.uk

The Scottish Migrants Network thanks The Scottish Government and the following for support for the Conference:

Images: Karen Gordon Photography – www.karengordonphotography.co.uk

SMN Conference 2011 1

Scottish Migrants NetworkThe Scottish Migrants Network, established in 2007, recognised the need to develop a network of organisations and groups to focus specifically on new migrant issues and to maximise the use of relationships and opportunities specific to Scotland in terms of advocating, information and practice sharing.

To date the SMN has not been funded and depends on the goodwill and support of members especially as it continues to develop and evolve throughout Scotland. Regular networking meetings, conferences, poster campaigns and a website are all activities to support its aims.

AimTo develop an informal network of voluntary organisations, migrant community groups and statutory bodies to work at a national level focusing on issues around migration that are specific to Scotland.

The network will focus on vulnerable workers and seek to encompass all new migrants and migrant issues including: Economic migrants (EU, A8,A2), asylum seekers/refugees, undocumented/irregular migrants.

The SMN will have three strands of work focus:

› Information Sharing: through meeting, networking, a dedicated website – raising awareness of rights and migration issues; providing relevant up to date information or signposting towards existing information.

› Support and Advocacy: on improving rights related to migration in Scotland with a focus on employment and ensuring rights are implemented.

› Practice Sharing: to actively support and highlight initiatives to improve migrant support.

www.scottishmigrantsnetwork.org.uk

Scottish Migrants Network Conference, Edinburgh 2011

2 Programme of the Day

Programme of the day 10.45-12.00 Conference Plenary

Welcome – Jason Bergen, Scottish Migrants Network Conference OrganiserChair – Dr. Mariangela Palladino, University of EdinburghMarcela Adamova, Romano Lav Roma Community OrganisationJohn Finnie MSP Highlands and Islands, Member of the Equal Opportunities and Justice Committees; Convenor of the Human Rights Cross Party GroupLaura Jamieson, COSLA Strategic Migration Partnership Policy Officer

Questions & Discussion

12.00-1.15 WorkShop 1

1. Volunteering with New Migrants – Experiences and learning. Citizens Advice Scotland and the Fife Migrants Forum.

2. Access to Housing – Issues for migrants in Scotland, access to social housing in Glasgow to housing in Aberdeen. Glasgow Housing Association, Positive Action in Housing, Tenants First Housing Co-operative Aberdeen.

3. Enforcement of Workers Rights – Work and Experience. Health & Safety Executive and Gangmasters Licensing Authority.

2.00-3.15 WorkSHoP 2

1. Researching experiences of migration in Scotland – Glasgow Refugee Asylum and Migration Network (GRAMNet) and practical experience ‘Forced Labor in Scotland’ initial findings. University of Glasgow, University of Dundee supported by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

2. Employability and Training – Partnerships and experiences from Inverness and Fife. Workers Educational Association and Unison Inverness, Fife Council.

3. Migrants within Scotland’s health workforce and Migrants access to health services in Scotland – Exploring the experience. Glasgow Caledonia University.

3.30-4.45 WorkSHoP 3

1. Social Welfare Rights & Benefits with new migrants – Overview of entitlements and practical challenges. The Govanhill Law Centre and Child Poverty Action Group

2. Engaging Media, Migrants and Myth-busting – Discussion, Ideas and Sharing. Migrant Voice and Migrant Rights Scotland

5.30-7.00

3. Migrant Roundtable Discussion with Policy Makers

Plenary 3

Jason Bergen – Scottish Migrants Network

welcomed the participants and thanked the Scottish

Government and other partners for funding the

conference. He introduced the Chair Dr. Palladino who

has been supportive of migrants in Scotland through

her research as well as previous roles.

Dr. Mariangela Palladino – University of Edinburgh

began with an observation: A migrant – in the

collective imagination of contemporary society and

public discourse – is often someone who is fleeing

dictatorships, natural and ecological disasters, famines,

poverty, war. Migration discourse – in social sciences,

politics, the arts – is crisis driven. It is important to break

this cycle of disbelief and fear, and to embrace a new

discourse about migration – an approach that allows

for creativity, imagination, openness. We need to think

of migration more creatively, beyond borders because

whilst borders are there they are in fact being crossed

everyday, ‘legally’ or ‘illegally’. Migration represents for

Scotland an excellent opportunity for social change,

cultural diversity, a growing population; but it is also an

opportunity at human level: different kinds of relations

can be possible, not based on fear, but on togetherness.

Marcela Adamova – romano Lav (Roma Community

Organisation) gave a personal account as a Slovak Roma

migrant in Glasgow for five years and how she had

previously worked with the NHS and voluntary sectors

to support new migrants. This involved working with

many migrants who were experiencing difficulties,

as well as liaising with the relevant organisations to

ensure they responded to their needs. She is currently

working with Oxfam looking at employability with

the Glasgow Roma with an aim to help them to build

their own community organization that will provide

support and as well as ensuring they are aware of their

rights and entitlements. This initiative will also provide

the opportunity to raise the voice of the community.

Though there are still barriers and challenges, she

anticipated that by working in partnership with other

interested parties, her community would overcome

these and begin to integrate more widely.

John Finnie – SNP MSP Highlands and Islands

(member of the Scottish Parliament Equal Opportunities

and Justice Committees) gave an overview of some of

his observations as a new MSP, as well as a Highlands

Councillor, regarding migration especially over the

past decade. He noted not only the hard work but also

the economic and cultural contribution of migrants

to Scotland. He spoke of the Equal Opportunities

Committee’s Report on Migration and Trafficking and

the need to take recommendations forward. He said

negative attitudes to migrants are still prevalent in

Scotland and need to be addressed.

Laura Jamieson – CoSLA Strategic Migration

Partnership spoke about the role of the Partnership and

the work they were engaged in with local authorities

on migration. She spoke of the implementation of their

Migration Policy Toolkit, a resource developed to help

local authorities take a more strategic approach to

migration. She said the Team has successfully worked

together with Shetland Council and Glasgow City

Council to assist them to develop a more strategic

response to migration. Dumfries and Galloway has also

utilised the toolkit as part of their resources to assist in

the development of a demographic action plan.

She discussed how the Toolkit had been refreshed in

light of recent policy changes and directed participants

to the website (www.migrationscotland.org) to

download Version 2 as well as case studies providing

more information on the local authorities who have

utilised the Toolkit.

Plenary

4 Questions to the Plenary

› In some areas there are many organisations

providing support and advice to migrants. How

do we ensure that advice and information sharing

is streamlined?

It was acknowledged that there were many

organisations that had a remit to assist and support

migrants but Jason said in his experience, support

in some areas was on paper but not in reality. In

some areas there were big gaps in service and while

community organisations were developing, many

services had been reduced or stopped due to funding.

This was one of the reasons for networking: to share

information in networks like the SMN but also locally.

The COSLA Migration Policy Toolkit encourages local

partnership approaches as well as multi-agency

approaches more widely. The case studies available on

the website illustrate how this can be done in practice.

› Participants were concerned that the cuts and the

welfare reform proposals would have an impact

on migrant workers particularly around access

and waiting times. The demise of the Immigration

Advisory Service and access to legal advice generally

was making things more difficult.

This was acknowledged as a current and developing

challenge. The SMN would continue to try to link

organisations and also raise awareness with service

providers and policy makers. The Scottish Government’s

Relocation Advisory Service website was pointed out

as another resource not only to provide information on

access but also where issues could be raised.

› Were migrant communities more aware about

accessing resources such as the Gangmasters

Licensing Authority (GLA) to report exploitation

after recent investigations?

It was felt there was more trust of organisations like

the GLA especially when working together with locally

known service providers, such as the community

police and law centres. More outreach and work with

community organisations is needed so migrants could

better understand roles and support provided.

› How would Scotland be better able to respond to

migration and the difficulties migrant workers face

with evolving issues such as the points based system

that may have disadvantaged migrants?

While migration is not devolved, the Scottish

Government continue to advocate for more power in

this area and also negotiate for migrants in Scotland

through meetings and responses to consultations. The

Scottish Parliament Equal Opportunities Inquiry into

Migration and Trafficking involved many organisations

and produced a good report and recommendations that

can be advocated for and taken forward. The SMN would

encourage migrants, organisations and service providers

to also be involved in these processes but would also act

as fora to raise these issues with officers.

Questions to the Plenary

‘In some areas there were big gaps in service and while community organisations were developing, many services had been reduced or stopped due to funding. ‘

Workshops – Volunteering with New Migrants 5

Cynthia (CAS) described the work of Citizens Advice

Bureaux (CAB) and volunteering opportunities. Around

80% of CAB workers are volunteers, and people can take a

range of roles, such as advice worker, social policy worker,

administrator or management committee member. Each

CAB is independently run by and for the local community.

All bureaux are members of Citizens Advice Scotland

(CAS), which supports their service delivery and ensures

quality and consistency across Scotland.

In CABs most volunteers become advisers, who provide

general (and sometimes specialist) advice topics where

people’s rights and responsibilities are regulated by

law. Advisers can help clients by signposting, giving

information and advice, helping people take action

to solve their problems and, with further training,

representing clients at a tribunal. Some advisers

also contribute to local and/or national social policy

work, to try to influence changes to laws, policies

and procedures. Advisers receive extensive initial and

ongoing training, and always have access to support

when giving advice and access to information through

an electronic information system – they don’t need to

learn it all!

The group identified a long list of benefits of

volunteering – increased confidence, work experience,

practical knowledge of issues and procedures,

integration into the local community, social

opportunities and more. Migrant testimonies from

Maryhill, Glasgow CAB’s project were also shared.

Cliff and Marketa (FMF) presented the work and

experiences of FMF, a new voluntary organisation in Fife.

FMF has the primary aim of capacity building individuals

from Fife’s ethnic minority communities through the

work of volunteers. Bringing together members to

support each other and promote understanding of

services and indigenous culture to enhance integration

and community cohesion.

They have recruited and trained 30 volunteers

from different communities including: employed,

unemployed, retirees and students. Volunteer diversity

has been a great resource to support clients on issues

from overcoming communication barriers, welfare

access and entitlement, health, education, employment,

housing, financial advice, and other support. FMF had

supported over 180 clients, handled more than 300

cases, and made many referrals to partner organisations.

Lessons learned through the work by FMF include

evidence that volunteer support and mentoring of

clients was immensely beneficial to both parties. Clients

gained knowledge of the workings of various services.

Volunteers were gaining confidence and interpersonal

skills valuable to them for future employability.

There were also notable contributions by retiree and

employed volunteers whose primary interest lay in

helping, giving back to the community.

In discussions the session made key observations

around the voluntary work involving migrants:

› Experiences from FMF showed skewed client statistics,

greater numbers of Eastern European migrants reflective

of current migration trends in Fife. Shared experiences

across session participants were that access to support

services offered by third sector organisations tended to

be promoted by word of mouth.

Workshops

› Volunteering with New MigrantsCynthia Shuken, Citizens Advice Scotland; Cliff Mwanda & Marketa kolafova Fife Migrants Forum

6 Workshops – Volunteering with New Migrants

Challenges were noted with some voluntary

organisations in recruiting and retaining volunteers

possibly due to the recession. High volunteer turnover

was affecting continuity of work and, in some cases

may, due to limited capacity to train new volunteers,

compromise the integrity of the service(s) to be

delivered, and concerns around client confidentiality

and data protection issues. At the same time

flexibility around availability of volunteers presented

management challenges of ensuring consistent and

balanced availability of volunteer support.

recommendations1. Ongoing recruitment, training and continuous

development of professionalism of volunteers and

funding.

2. Volunteering by migrant communities is essential

in fostering increased confidence, practical

knowledge about specific issues and procedures,

integration into the local community and social

inclusion.

3. Support and service organisations from both

public and third sector need to engage better

with migrants to promote awareness of volunteer

services but also to design services that are

dynamic and responsive to migrant trends.

4. Work by volunteer organisations is making

significant savings to the public sector service

delivery costs and should undertake ‘Return-On-

Investment’ (ROI) to quantify the value of your

volunteer work.

‘The group identified a long list of benefits of volunteering – increased confidence, work experience, practical knowledge of issues and procedures, integration into the local community, social opportunities and more.’

Workshops – Access to Housing 7

The workshop began with an overview of the issues

affecting migrants’ access to housing in Scotland.

Iain spoke of the barriers preventing migrants from

accessing social housing, including legislation,

lack of knowledge of systems, language barriers,

administrative delays and discrimination. Legislation

prevents migrants from accessing local authority

housing and homelessness assistance and housing

benefit unless they have recourse to public funds.

There are no legislative barriers preventing migrants

from accessing housing provided by registered social

landlords (RSLs). For European nationals, entitlement

to public funds is complicated and is linked to whether

or not they are exercising the right to reside. Iain

highlighted that migrants can experience difficulties

in accessing information and advice services to learn

about their housing rights and options before they

are in crisis situations. He discussed long delays in

processing migrants’ benefits applications leading to

unmanageable debt, dependence on private sector

and particular vulnerability to unemployment and

exploitative employment conditions.

Seonad gave an overview of GHA – one of the largest

social landlords in the UK. Currently, 19% of GHA’s

applicants are from black and minority ethnic (BME)

groups – mainly asylum seekers, refugees and migrant

workers. 16% of lets in 2010-11 were to BME applicants

and 6% of current tenants are from BME backgrounds.

GHA created the role of Migrant Support Advisor in

June 2010 to provide support to frontline staff and was

part-funded for 12 months by the Lintel Trust. During

this period Seonad created guidance and developed

a training toolkit for frontline staff on housing and

supporting migrants and refugees. Her role now

involves responding to queries from frontline staff

and processing homeless referrals from Glasgow City

Council for refugees. Seonad highlighted the issues that

migrants and refugees face in accessing and sustaining

social tenancies, including:

Cultural differences in understanding of social

housing and associated costs e.g. rent, council tax,

utility bills.

Lack of awareness of allocations policy and process.

Lack of knowledge of areas if recently arrived.

Potential language barrier.

Lack of understanding of benefits system and

eligibility.

Lack of knowledge of support available from other

agencies.

Racial harassment.

Importance of integration support in locality.

Migrant workers often face difficulties sustaining

tenancies if they lose their jobs and are not entitled

to access housing benefit or other benefits – this can

lead to high rent arrears and possible eviction. GHA’s

guidance and training highlight the importance of early

intervention to prevent arrears from accruing and to

assist migrants to sustain tenancies.

Seonad highlighted some resources which RSLs and

migrants can use to learn more about access to housing

for migrants:

www.housing-rights.info/scotland

www.housing-rights.info/Housing-Migrant-Workers-

And-refugees.pdf

› Access to Housing Iain Chisholm, Positive Action in Housing (PAIH); Seonad Forbes, Glasgow Housing Association (GHA);

Louise Wreathall, Tenants First Housing Cooperative

Louise described the Ethnic Minority Housing Project

Grampian that has been running since November

2007. The project is hosted at Tenants First Housing

Cooperative in Aberdeen and was originally funded by

The Lintel Trust, Aberdeenshire Council and Aberdeen

City Council. It is now has funded until July 2012 by

Aberdeenshire Council and 4 RSLs. There is one part

time Project Worker and a Project Management team

made up of representatives from the funders. The

purpose of the project is to help and inform all ethnic

minorities with any housing issue. The main nationalities

accessing the project are Polish, Latvian and Lithuanian

but are also used by Asians, Africans and other European

nationals. Ethnic minorities make up a significant

proportion of applicants to local authority housing in

the area: 18% of applications in Aberdeen and 6% in

Aberdeenshire. The main issues raised by clients are:

wanting an affordable, secure home

rogue Landlords

serious overcrowding

poor English

lack of understanding of the benefit system

low income

Worker Registration Certificate

homelessness

neighbour problems /racism

part buy schemes.

There was a discussion based on the presentations,

covering housing issues affecting migrants in Scotland.

Participants came from a range of areas including

Edinburgh, Glasgow, the Highlands, Grampian, Dundee

and West Lothian and similar issues were raised from

many of these areas. Participants spoke about:

how common housing registers could improve

migrants’ access

the prevalence of hot-bedding in some areas

migrants living in accommodation which is being

sub-let

lack of affordable housing in Scotland

how welfare reform will impact on migrants’ access to

housing

where to find resources about migrants’ rights to

housing

illegal evictions from the private rented sector

enforcement of landlord registration

access to housing for destitute asylum seekers

disrepair in the private rented sector

regulation of letting agencies

overcrowding.

Although many of these issues affect the general

population in Scotland, they are often exacerbated for

migrants due to lack of knowledge of housing rights.

8 Workshops – Access to Housing

recommendations1. The Scottish Government should prioritise

investment in social housing to ensure that

affordable housing is available to all people in

housing need.

2. Local authorities should enforce laws regulating

private landlords to prevent exploitation in the

private rented sector.

3. Social landlords should take action on sub-letting

to prevent exploitation in the social sector.

Workshops – Enforcement of Workers Rights 9

The workshop focussed on various ways to report

workers concerns in the workplace, the role of the HSE

and GLA, and included a practical facilitated exercise

to understand these better. Both agencies have less

capacity than previously to engage directly with

communities.

The workshop began with an overview of the

role and remit of HSE, and the complaints criteria

and procedure. Contact information was given to

delegates for purposes of third party reporting. The

talk included information on how the migrant work

force may already have an idea of their rights to a safe

and healthy working environment; however there is

sufficient evidence to suggest that complainants do

not always understand or report the correct aspect

of the complaint to the correct authority. This creates

a delay in the complaint being investigated. There

are occasions when the complaint does not contain

sufficient information or HSE will not be able to obtain

evidence from the complainant, where it is marked as

anonymous with no contact details or HSE is not allowed

to contact the employer. A vital part of reporting is

to provide as much detail as possible without giving

anything that identifies the worker. HSE cannot

guarantee that an employer will not try to find out who

the complainant was. Similarly, an employee can be

named following legal procedures should the complaint

prove to be false or the company is misrepresented.

The delegates were informed that HSE passes on

information to and investigates with other Government

and statutory organisations, for example the GLA.

The workshop then focused on the process and

methodology employed at the GLA of dealing with

complaints received from migrant workers or other

sources of information. The GLA highlighted each

stage in the process and how information is treated

and responded to within the scope of the National

Intelligence Model (NIM).

It was stressed that intelligence cannot be considered

as evidence and the responsibility to evidence that

intelligence lay not only with whoever has received such

but there had to be a recognition by the migrant worker

that merely making a complaint does not alleviate

further responsibility on the worker. A worker may at a

later point be requested to provide further information

and may ultimately be a witness in any subsequent

prosecution.

Language and communication issues remain

problematic and the group were informed that worker’s

rights information is available in multiple languages.

recommendations1. Migrant support networks to help explain to

workers how to make a complaint and how that

complaint is dealt with.

2. Workers to be encouraged to impart information

to the relevant department and the expectation to

assist further.

3. Sharing and transfer of current and accurate

information and intelligence between all networks

should be encouraged.

4. Information on worker’s rights and health and

safety requirements is available in multi-lingual

format and should be accessed and distributed to

protect against potential exploitation.

› Enforcement of Workers RightsValerie Holland, Health and Safety Executive (HSE);

Tom McCrosson, Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA)

10 Workshops – Researching experiences of migration in Scotland

This session explored approaches to researching

migrant experiences in Scotland.

GrAMNet

The first presentation outlined the founding of

GRAMNet at the University of Glasgow in 2009. Scotland

provides a distinctive research and policy context

within the UK for migration, refugee and asylum

issues; immigration is a reserved matter, but care and

responsibility are devolved. Glasgow has a long history

of hosting migrant communities, and now (under the

Government dispersal policy) hosts one of the largest

populations in the UK of asylum seekers and refugees.

GRAMNet was established with two key aims:

To work collaboratively to generate relevant research

to answer pressing questions facing migrants and

those who provide them with support; and,

To bring the best of relevant and up-to-date academic

research to those working on the frontline of service

delivery, policy and campaigns.

GRAMNet members undertake a range of types of

research grounded in a range of approaches, but a

commitment to a participatory and collaborative

ethos is central to the aims of the Network. Activities

and expertise include films and exhibitions, school’s

events, conferences and workshops, project advice for

third sector organisations, media work, collaborative

funding proposals, and postgraduate (PGT) research

development. In the context of the latter, PGT initiatives

aim to link up early-career researchers and groups with

research needs.

Migrant’s experiences of forced labour in the Uk

Forced labour has recently been made a criminal offence

under national law, but it remains poorly understood.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has sought to

extend the evidence base through a dedicated research

programme. The second presentation outlined two

JRF-funded projects both conducted by the same team

of researchers at Universities of Bristol, Dundee and Hull.

One of these projects is a major scoping exercise while

the second focuses specifically on migrant workers

in the UK’s food sector. The latter study is based on

over 60 in-depth interviews, in five case study areas,

including a number of interviews conducted in east-

central Scotland. The design of this ‘experience study’

reflects the desire to access experiences from a range of

industries ‘from farm to fork’.

Support of the Scottish Migrants Network was hugely

important in publicising the research, and for recruiting

the study interviewers. All interviewers were trained and

were themselves bilingual migrants, the majority already

working for local migrant worker initiatives or support

organisations within each of the case study areas.

Based on these interviews, the research identifies a

number of problematic labour practices, building

from the International Labour Organisations forced

labour ‘indicators’. These practices are found in varying

combinations and have frequently formed the basis on

which migrants are forced to accept difficult and poorly-

rewarded work in the UK’s food sector. Each practice

on its own is not sufficient to constitute forced labour;

however their prevalence suggests the need for further

consideration of the level at which policy interventions

are made.

› Researching Experiences of Migration in Scotland kendra Strauss, Glasgow refugee, Asylum and Migration Network (GrAMNet) and University of Glasgow;

Alistair Geddes, University of Dundee

Workshops – Researching experiences of migration in Scotland 11

Further information both on the research and the

International Labour Organisation’s forced labour

indicators can be found at on the JRF website:

www.jrf.org.uk/work/workarea/forced-labour

The discussion centred on both researchers’ experiences

of collaborative working with third and public sector

organisations, and organisations’ experiences of the

research process. One key issue raised was the inherent,

multi-dimensional precarity of doing research with

migrants and the need for an ethical process to guide

this research.

recommendations1. Partnerships between academics and organisations

should be fostered in order to help the latter

navigate ethics processes and procedures, and to

help the former think about practical approaches to

ethics ‘on the ground’.

2. Researchers could play an expanded role in helping

to create effective student placements, focusing and

filtering student requests to get good students into

relevant and useful projects.

3. More research outputs are needed relevant to the

often fast-changing contexts in which migrants’

groups work. Time sensitivity is hugely important

and there is often mismatch between longer-term

academic projects and the immediate information

needs of organisations working with migrants.

‘Support of the Scottish Migrants Network was hugely important in publicising the research, and for recruiting the study interviewers.’

12 Workshops – Employability and Training

robert Wylie began the session by speaking

about his experiences managing the English

at Work Programme in the Highlands.

This successful programme, funded by the ESF through

Highland Council, has been running for four years

supporting migrant workers learn English in the

workplace. The WEA has worked with over 20 different

employers from hotels to hospitals. By making all the

arrangements for each class it minimises the work

required by the employer. Many migrants are employed

indirectly through employment agencies particularly in

the food industries. Courses are now running for these

workers in one of the agencies.

Learners come from a wide spectrum of ages, skills and

nationalities and they find the convenience of courses

at work at a shift end suit their busy lives. Attendance

at the courses is high. Tutors are well qualified and very

flexible. They are supported by WEA training courses

and locally written material in conjunction with the

employers.

Networking with the Migrant Worker Coordinator from

Talent Scotland/Highland Council and the Migrant

Workers Fieldworker from Unison Scotland has been

an important factor in getting information to migrants

about their opportunities to learn with the Union and

the WEA. However, the number of agencies working

with migrants was large and made communication

complicated and difficult.

There was discussion regarding what it is in the

programme that attracts employers. A direct and

personal approach to employers yielded the best results.

Using networks and partnerships built up over several

years was a good source of leads to interested parties.

Maciej Dokurno from Fife Council, Enterprise, Planning

& Protective Services presented Fife Council’s approach

to supporting employability through the Opportunities

Fife initiative.

Partnership with representatives from Scotland’s

Colleges Fife, Jobcentre Plus, Fife Council, CVS Fife, NHS

Fife, Skills Development Scotland and local employer

aims to enable people of Fife to reach their full

employment potential and contribute to Fife’s economy.

Opportunities Fife tackle unemployment through

engaging with those who have been pushed further

from the job market due to recession and helping

people overcome barriers to work. This also includes

members of Fife’s international community.

The Client Action Team and Employer Programme

Team are providing frontline services to individuals and

employers by offering employability support, help with

short term childcare costs, discretionary funding, Money

Advice and ‘Better off calculation’. They also provide

help with funding for training courses, wage subsidy

programme, Single Point of Contact for employers and

Job Brokerage. The team also coordinates realisation of

community benefits within procurement.

› Employability and TrainingPartnerships and experiences from Inverness and Fife:

robert Wylie, Workers’ Educational Association (WEA) Inverness; Maciej Dokurno, Fife Council

Workshops – Employability and Training 13

This model is addressed to the whole of Fife’s

community. To make sure that Fife’s migrants can easily

access this as well as other Council services, Fife Council

supports and works in partnership with Fife Migrants

Forum who act as the first port of contact for migrant

clients requiring support. Once the needs of the client

have been identified the client is then referred to the

appropriate service with any additional assistance that

may be required to overcome any existing barriers.

Both area models work well due to networking and

broad partnership work across sectors.

recommendations1. Increase the awareness of partnership projects

and successful programmes throughout Scotland

through networking and networks.

2. Local authorities should work in partnership with

migrant community organisations to remove

barriers and access employment and training for

migrants.

2. Simplify and streamline the agencies working with

migrants locally and nationally.

3. Continue funding successful partnership projects.

Learners come from a wide spectrum of ages, skills and nationalities and they find the convenience of courses at work at a shift end suit their busy lives. Attendance at the courses is high.

14 Workshops – Migrants & Health in Scotland

Aim 1To examine the evidence about current and projected

contributions migrants make to the health workforce

in Scotland/UK and discuss the experience of migrant

health workers and present data on the local, national

and international projection about carer need and the

impact of the current economic crisis.

This workshop presented the context of Scotland’s

and the UK’s reliance on a migrant health workforce.

It was highlighted that the evidence suggests the

carers workforce is one area where need may not

dramatically lessen within an economic crisis and

Scotland has a particular identified demographic

projection of need for carers – www.scotland.gov.uk/

publications/2010/07/23163626/7

However, the economic uncertainty can and does

impact on workers.

Key issues discussed within the workshop and

supported by the evidence in the report ‘Migrant Care

Workers in Ageing Societies’ (Cangiano et al 2009).

Migrant care workers face discrimination in pay and

working conditions. Recent changes in the points

based system (PBS) has impacted negatively on the

employment security and progression potential of care

workers with a corresponding visa uncertainty.

Anecdotal evidence of negative attitudes to migrant

carers by some older people include verbal abuse.

Organisations like the Overseas Nurses and Carers

Network’s (ONCN) experience indicated employers and

staff need guidance about how to manage this issue.

Aim 2To examine the health needs of migrants locally and

nationally and highlight some of the initiatives which

aim to support access to appropriate health services for

migrants in Scotland within the current economic crisis.

Services such as health, which regular migrants pay

for in higher tax rates, need to work towards ensuring

equality of access. Yet there is only weak data on who is

here, what services they would need to access and their

ability to access services.

Migration on the scale seen in Scotland during the last

10 years has not happened before and services and

policy makers have acknowledged the issue of access is

not necessarily managed well.

Workshop participants produced anecdotal evidence

of migrants facing increasing demand for proof of

eligibility to appropriate health services such as the

those experienced by Streetwork’s staff (a migrant

homelessness charity) on behalf of its clients. Also

issues arose of inappropriate questioning within A & E

services. There was also concern that within the current

economic climate those most marginalised will find

it even harder to access services as the infrastructure

to support them will not be developed and current

initiatives ended.

Web information initiatives to access services:

www.howtousethenhs.com

www.healthinmylanguage.com/home.aspx

› Migrants & Health in Scotland Migrant’s contribution within Scotland’s health workforce and Migrant’s access to health services

Dr Ima Jackson, Glasgow Caledonian University

Workshops – Migrants & Health in Scotland 15

recommendations1. Data is required to identify current migrant carers

and address the future role of migrant carers for

Scotland’s ageing population.

2. Strategies to ensure Scotland can develop the

infrastructure to retain and progress current and

future migrant carers.

3. Implementation of existing strategies to ensure

equality of access to appropriate services for all.

4. Education of health service staff on rights of

migrants to access the appropriate health services.

‘Anecdotal evidence of negative attitudes to migrant carers by some older people, included verbal abuse. Organisations like the Overseas Nurses and Carers Network’s (ONCN) experience indicated employers and staff need guidance about how to manage this issue.’

16 Workshops – Social Welfare Rights & Benefits with new migrants

Henri (CPAG) gave a presentation on the welfare rights

of people coming from abroad. Participants were then

split into groups and asked to consider two questions:

1. What are the main barriers to people from abroad

accessing welfare rights entitlements?

2. How can migrant led groups contribute to

overcoming these barriers?

Feedback from the group work included:

1. What are the main barriers to people from abroad

accessing welfare rights entitlements?

Lack of information and knowledge

Lack of translation

Lack of consistency

Complexity of system and delays

Public opinion

Cultural and Psychological barriers

Absence of first point of contact

Incorrect/conflicting advice

Legislative barriers

Difficulty accessing services (will be exacerbated by

universal credit online application process)

Closed communities (less likely to engage with

authorities)

2. How can migrant led groups contribute to

overcoming these barriers?

Visit advice centres to get better informed

Migrant advisors or volunteers with training

Provide translated advice materials

Improve language skills/ESOL

Encourage others to access advice

Informal information exchange

Developing formal partnerships or networking

relationships

Raise profile of issues and of own community

(internally and out with)

Run courses, invite speakers as community events

Develop toolkits

Campaigning and lobbying for improved access

to services

Encouraging reporting of abuse and discrimination

Contact MPs and policy makers

Perseverance through making claims and appeals

› Social Welfare Rights & Benefits with New Migrants overview of entitlements and practical challenges:

Henri krishna, Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG); Lindsay Paterson, Govanhill Law Centre

Lindsay (Govanhill Law Centre) then gave a

presentation on practical challenges. Participants then

considered the following question in their groups:

What can policy makers do to tackle the barriers

facing migrants accessing welfare rights

entitlements?

Feedback from the group work included:

Training staff

Localised decision making

Face-to-face contact

More efficient and simple system

Better information provided to new arrivals

More consistency

End right to reside test

Provide information in a number of different

languages

Improve access to interpreting services

Use plain English

HMRC needs to speed up processing of claims

– better resourced decision making centres

recommendations1. Migrant led groups should be supported to take

action, as detailed above, to overcome the barriers

faced by migrants accessing welfare rights.

2. Policy Makers should aim to make the system more

accessible, in the ways detailed above, and ensure

that those working within the system are fully

trained.

3. Better facilitation to bring migrant led groups and

policy makers together through better funding of

organisations and networks such as SMN.

Workshops – Social Welfare Rights & Benefits with new migrants 17

‘Policy Makers should aim to make the system more accessible, in the ways detailed..., and ensure that those working within the system are fully trained.’

18 Workshops – Engaging Media, Migrants and Myth-busting

The workshop began with some examples of the

difficult reporting that has occurred regarding migrants;

how this potentially influenced public attitudes, policy

makers and policies; and ultimately affected migrants in

terms of prejudice and racist crime.

The context of recession and cuts meant there was a

greater risk of blame being attributed to migrants so

better engagement becomes more important. Research

had indicated that some myth-busting (like general

brochures) were not effective as they could reinforce

existing negative prejudices unless used in conjunction

with other activities and especially more ‘meaningful

contact’ which many of the participants do in their

daily lives. In Scotland there has been some positive

differences in reporting and politicians are generally

publicly more positive – but is Scotland really more

tolerant? Also one of the main issues raised in the recent

Scottish Parliament Equal Opportunities Committee

Inquiry into Migration was around addressing negative

attitudes.

Participants discussed some of their concerns in this

area. One of the main issues discussed was the need to

better understand the media and context better and

how to engage more effectively as migrants or support

organisations. The group raised related issues and

discussed some of the following:

Media

The importance of not only WHAT is reported but

HOW it is reported and recognising there are MANY

types of media

There is often a lack of knowledge in the media

industry about migrant/minority issues that together

with lack of time/staff allows journalists to research

stories only briefly. So there is not necessarily an

agenda in articles but simply lack of knowledge or

time to prepare (though sometimes there are agendas

too!).

The differences between national/local press were

highlighted. The importance of local press/radio in

relation to MSPs (who read their local papers). Local

media may also be easier for migrants to access and

share their ‘stories’ with.

The internet and new social media’s reach and scope

was questioned. Also it was acknowledged the

change of the profile of the media due to the growing

use of the internet.

London-based political bias seen as an important

influence on editorials in some Scottish press

editions. Increasingly there seemed to be a growing

link between the language tabloids used and the

language of some politicians.

Importance of engaging and praising journalists that

were reporting on accurate and or positive migrant

issues that could encourage them to continue

reporting.

Engaging National Union of Journalists members and

also journalism students had been useful on refugee

issues and worth building relationships with.

Given the present discussion around regulation, is

there an opportunity to change in ways that may

help?

› Engaging Media, Migrants and Myth-busting Hyo Eun Shen, Migrant rights Scotland; Jason Bergen, Migrant Voice

Workshops – Engaging Media, Migrants and Myth-busting 19 18 Workshops – Engaging Media, Migrants and Myth-busting

Migrants

Some migrants were unaware of media coverage

Many migrants want to speak for themselves

therefore, it is important to support their

understanding and build capacity and include them

in media-related campaigns/work.

Organisations like Migrant Voice provide training

and advice on engaging media in conjunction with

journalists and others. BEMIS also is developing

guidance.

Training programme of migrant community policy

awareness through organisations like Migrant Rights

Scotland was seen as important.

Migrant/minority groups (like any others that wish to

engage) have to be proactive in contacting the media

whether this be through new media or the traditional

media industry to share their stories. Journalists see

migrants as important resources for ‘real stories’.

recommendations1. To encourage and advocate for the Scottish

Government to take forward and resource the Equal

Opportunities Committee’s recommendations

around addressing negative public attitudes.

2. Migrants, migrant community and support

organisations should be more proactive,

individually and collectively, in engaging local and

national media through contact, letters to editors

and praise for accurate and positive reporting.

3. Individuals encouraged to build their own

knowledge through networking and researching

resources like Migrant Rights Scotland, Migrant

Voice and Migrant Rights Network websites to

be more effective ‘myth-busters’ in their every

day lives.

‘In Scotland there has been some positive

differences in reporting and politicians are

generally publicly more positive – but is Scotland

really more tolerant?’

Jason welcomed participants, both policy makers

and migrants to the discussion. These included John

Finnie MSP, representatives from the Police; CPAG;

BEMIS; Migrant Community groups and individuals

from Fife, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverness, Falkirk and

Glasgow representing 10 nationalities.

Discussion focussed around the following issues:

1. Funding Cuts

The group identified that there have been and will be

cuts to services across Scotland, that projects which

are applying for funding (or reapplying after present

funding runs out) will need to provide evidence

of what the (higher) costs might be if services are

withdrawn, for example an increase in unemployment

and homelessness.

Many successful migrant projects are presently

run by volunteers, with little or no funding. These

projects already highlight and identify gaps in present

service provision. There was concern at how are such

voluntary projects going to be managed as demand

for advice and information rises.

It was suggested that advice and information services

should work together so as not to duplicate services.

CAB offices are highly regarded, but struggling to

cope with the volume of people needing advice.

A participant from the Roma community made the

point that different groups require different services

and it is necessary for service providers to engage

with the different ethnic communities to establish

their needs and make sure that services offered are

relevant.

It was noted that there has been cuts to English

language teaching provision.

As funding reduces and advice and information

projects are cut, individuals and groups will need

to be more self-dependent. It was suggested that

a centralised database of services locally and for

the whole of Scotland would be a good idea, and

relatively low cost. Awareness of this could then be

spread through word of mouth and online social

networking. This had been suggested in the past

nationally and carried out in some areas locally:

www.grampiancaredata.gov.uk

2. Healthcare

The point made that if good access to primary

healthcare is available, then there are lower costs for

secondary emergency care.

Challenges when there is a lack of knowledge about

procedures, on both the part of the service user and

the service provider for example, the translation of

medical documents by GP practices or when records

‘disappear’ or are destroyed if migrants are assumed

to have moved away.

Concern about healthcare depending upon the

postcode of the patient.

20 Migrant Roundtable Discussion

› Migrant Roundtable Discussion Chair: Jason Bergen, Scottish Migrants Network & Migrant Voice

Migrant Roundtable Discussion 21 20 Migrant Roundtable Discussion

3. racism and Community Safety

It was pointed out that the media needed to take

greater responsibility for the way that it portrays

migrants. Public perception of migrants can be

adversely affected by high profile, sensational media

cases about migrants breaking the law (even though

noted that ‘migrant crime’ was significantly less than

indigenous crime rates). This can expose migrants to

racism and abuse.

The group discussed the underlying discrimination

in the requirement for migrant workers to produce

excessive documentation to prove who they are.

Several participants spoke about the experience of

ethnic minority, including Roma at airports being

excessively questioned. The Police participant

responded that this is not a Police issue, but likely to

be an ‘intelligence led’ response from border control.

Participants generally feel that there is a sectarianism

problem in Scotland and that this affects migrants as

well.

There was discussion about the UK Government’s

proposal to change the Human Rights Act. There

is political will in Scotland to keep the Act in its

present form. This could affect migrants and negative

attitudes linked to Europe, etc.

John Finnie MSP said that he was encouraged to have

been part of the session and the day where he had

learned much. He committed to take forward the ideas

raised especially around negative attitudes and the

idea of a ‘central advice and information database’ with

his Parliamentary colleagues for discussion.

Those present were encouraged to get involved with

and access information and websites around migrant

issues such as Migrant Rights Scotland, Migrant Voice

and Migrant Rights Network:

www.migrantrightsscotland.org.uk

www.migrantvoice.org

www.migrantsrights.org.uk

recommendations1. Need to network with other migrant and other

organisations to work together to advocate with

policy makers for services and minimise the affects

of cuts.

2. Advocate for central database of relevant services

and support for migrants.

3. Health challenges and cases to be documented

through networks and an online forum/platform

to create a body of evidence and SMN participants

could assist with this as had done in the past with

other issues.

4. Need to advocate for the Scottish Government to

take forward the recommendations from the Equal

Opportunities Committee Inquiry into Migration

and Trafficking especially around information

sharing and addressing negative public attitudes

to migrants.

www.scottishmigrantsnetwork.org.uk