Latest News from Positive Action in Housing

By Paul Kirby
EU reporter, BBC News

After years of dispute, the EU has struck an accord on the detention and deportation of illegal immigrants.

“We have 10 to 12 million illegal persons in the EU… they are modern slaves,” said German MEP Manfred Weber, who described the deal as a “big step”.

He said there would be a six-month limit on detention for most people and a readmission agreement would have to be struck before they were sent home.

A final decision will now have to be made by MEPs and member states.

The deal was hammered out by the Slovenian Presidency of the EU, along with members of the European Commission and the parliament, but it is opposed by some MEPs.

The Socialist group has refused to give its consent to the accord, saying it objects to some of the terms.

“We have serious reservations about numerous aspects of the text, particularly on the duration for which immigrants can be held in detention centres,” said French MEP Martine Roure, who took part in the talks in Strasbourg on Wednesday.

While France currently has a 30-day limit on detention, some EU countries such as Malta have an 18-month maximum and seven others, including the UK, have no limit.

Instead of the agreed six-month limit on detention with a possible further year for exceptional cases, the Socialists believe there should be a lower limit with an absolute maximum of six months.

But Dutch Liberal MEP Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert told the BBC News website that while the agreement was not perfect, it was definitely a step forward.

“They (the Socialists) are acting politically irresponsibly and are completely immature,” she said.

British Green MEP Jean Lambert said that the difficulty for some French MEPs was that while some countries would have to reduce their limit for immigrant detention, France would substantially increase its own.

Although the agreement was far better than if it had been left to governments to negotiate, she said the Greens would probably vote against it because of some of the provisions.

“If you’re married to a British citizen but don’t have the right to stay and are forced to leave, you can now find yourself banned for five years,” she said.

The Socialists are also concerned about the treatment of unaccompanied children.

But Manfred Weber, the European Parliament’s rapporteur on the return of illegal immigrants, said that social services would be responsible for the return of children rather than the usual authorities.

The plight of illegal immigrants has become a major issue in a number of EU countries. In Germany, campaigners complain that if an illegal immigrant goes to a hospital for treatment, doctors are required to inform the authorities.

That, says Mr Weber, leads to a situation in which many do not seek treatment.

In France earlier this month, Malian immigrant Baba Traore died after jumping into the River Marne while trying to escape from police east of Paris. He fled when he was asked for his identity documents.

Protesters took to the streets demanding rights for immigrants and the closure of detention centres.

The French government, which takes up the EU presidency in July, has made reaching a European immigration pact a priority.

Italy’s incoming interior minister, Roberto Maroni, has called for “more rigour” against illegal immigration, speaking of a need for “more cleansing and more police”.

Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said that the new agreement meant that there would now be an effective return policy across the EU which, until now, had not been in place.

“If you want to make a serious effort to come up with a comprehensive package on migration, you cannot ignore that we have to tackle the problems of illegal migration,” he said.

Scotsman

SKILLED migrant workers in Scotland are set to bring £2.4 billion to the UK economy over the next four years, a report by a recruitment agency has claimed.

The Future Flows report compiled for Harvey Nash by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) has predicted that Scotland will host around 26,000 migrant workers over the period – making up 3 per cent of the UK total.

The workers, who are likely to be employed in industries such as financial services and IT, will mainly come from the European Union, including new accession states such as Romania and Bulgaria.

In addition to filling and creating jobs, CEBR also forecasts that spending by migrant workers will bring £13bn to the Scottish economy by 2012.

Harvey Nash’s chief executive, Albert Ellis, said: “Skills are critical to the UK economy, but critically lacking in our current workforce. Far from undermining the UK labour market, migration is vital to future economic stability, helping to fill in the gaps created by older and under-skilled workforces and make a important vital economic contribution.

“Businesses in Scotland need to embrace skilled migration, as well as offer flexible and rewarding working practices for home-grown talent, in order to safeguard their long-term and global competitiveness.”

By Simon Johnson, Scottish Political Correspondent
The Telegraph

Immigration rules should be skewed to make it easier for foreign workers to settle in Scotland instead of England, the head of Britain’s new equality agency argued yesterday.

Sir Trevor Phillips said the Government’s new points-based immigration system should be weighted to encourage skilled foreigners to move north of the Border rather than settle in London or the south-east.

Critics warned last night that less strict rules north of the Border would lead to Scotland becoming the “back door” for migrants to enter the rest of the United Kingdom.

But Sir Trevor, the chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission and former chairman of the London Assembly, argued that the move would fill gaps in Scotland’s workforce and ease pressure on public services and housing elsewhere.

Under the new points-based system being phased in over the coming months, skilled foreign workers who want to move to the UK must meet a number of criteria. These include being offered a job that meets a skills shortage according to a list currently being drawn up by the Home Office’s Migration Advisory Committee (Mac).

The committee has been asked to draw up a separate list for Scotland, which the SNP administration hopes will make it easier for immigrants to work north of the Border.

Government figures published by The Daily Telegraph yesterday reveal that the number of immigrants forecast to enter Britain each year has risen to around 190,000, 45,000 higher than the 2004 statistic.

Sir Trevor said foreigners who agreed to settle in Scotland should be given more points, potentially allowing in UK migrants who would otherwise be barred. He said: “We now have a system by which, generally speaking, people will get into the country if they have a job offer and have skills that are in demand, which will accrue points.

“What I’m suggesting is that in totting up those points, you could bias the system so those who have jobs in Scotland get extra points.

“We should be creating an incentive for people to move to Scotland rather than tending to do what they do now, which is heading straight to London and the south-east.”

The idea replicates schemes in Australia and Canada, which are based on moving migrants to regions where there are fewer population pressures.

Speaking prior to addressing a business conference in St Andrews yesterday, Sir Trevor said this would benefit the Scottish economy, help reverse population decline and stymie the influx of foreigners to London.

“Most migrants will head to London or Toronto or Paris or Sydney because that’s where they’ve heard of,” he added. “Under the new system, we have the opportunity to take the edge off that and divert the flow a bit.”

Sir Trevor argued that there was less immigrant pressure placed on public services and housing in Scotland than in London and the south-east, meaning good community relations would be easier to achieve.

Rules could ensure that those who broke the terms of their visa, by moving out of Scotland, would be deported. But Sir Andrew Green, the chairman of the Migrationwatch think tank, said: “We cannot allow Scotland to become a back door to Britain. Once people are allowed to settle in Scotland, they will acquire a human rights claim to remain in the United Kingdom.”

The Border and Immigration Agency said that Mac would advise the Government on where migration could fill gaps in the UK labour market.

An agency spokeswoman said: “The Mac has already started work on the first shortage occupation list for skilled employment which it aims to publish in June.

“There are specific issues in Scotland, such as the declining population, that the points system could help offset, and we have therefore asked the Mac to produce a separate Scottish shortage occupation list.”

A Scottish Executive spokesman added: “We are confident that Scotland can attract talent from around the world and we are exploring a range of options with the Home Office, which will make it easier for those who are skilled to work here and to remain in Scotland.”

Sunday Herald

A study of Scotland’s Polish population finds while most are in paid work, language difficulties leave many open to exploitation. Home Affairs Editor John Bynorth reports.

POLISH WORKERS moving to Scotland are at risk of exploitation by employers because most have only basic English skills, even several years after arriving in the country, and many are not registering with the home office.

The largest study undertaken into the lifestyles of some of the 86,000 poles who have moved to Scotland in the past three years suggests that almost half are unable to communicate in English.

However, more than 80% are not attending English classes because working commitments don’t allow it.

The study also found that one in four have not joined the home office Workers’ Registration Scheme (WRS), which must be done within one month of starting work in the UK.

That means the government has no record of their employment, leaving them exposed to unscrupulous employers who might fail to deduct tax and National Insurance from wages.

The Fife Partnership - a multi-agency group which co-ordinates the area’s local authority, police, NHS and other bodies - ordered the study in an attempt to understand better the needs of migrant workers, because of a lack of information about how many migrants lived in the area and the issues they faced.

The area has seen the largest influx of Polish migrants in Scotland in recent years, with unofficial estimates suggesting that 15,000 now live there; a figure that is double the 7000 living in Glasgow and more than the 10,000 estimated in Edinburgh.

The study found that: l More than 90% of migrant workers are currently in paid work.

l More than 70% did not make use of their qualifications and skills in their current job; 52% have a university degree or undergraduate-level qualification.

l 5% said their UK employers did not recognise their qualifications at all.

l 16% had not been given a contract and 6% did not receive a pay slip.

l 40% worked in factory or processing jobs, with a further 10% in the construction industry.

l More than half had English language skills “good enough to communicate” and only 11% said they were “very good”.

l 82% are not attending English classes, mainly because of their working hours.

l 2% of employers provide studies in the language; only 1% allow paid time off to study English and less than 10% allow them unpaid time off to attend lessons.

l 25% of the immigrants had experienced verbal abuse, while 5% had suffered physical abuse as a result of their ethnic background or nationality.

Some migrant workers complained to the Sunday Herald that unscrupulous employers are “taking advantage” of their lack of English skills and unfamiliarity with the WRS.

The results of the survey have led to renewed calls from an MP and trade union leaders for better working practices towards migrants.

Labour MP Ann McKechin is sponsoring a private member’s bill in the House of Commons which aims to end the practice of agency workers, who include many migrants, being employed on lower pay and worse conditions that regular staff.

McKechin claimed that not enough information about employment rights is provided for migrants and added that in her Glasgow North constituency the migrant, mainly Polish population, is “growing by 50% a year”.

She added: “You are beginning to see a lot of agency workers who don’t have English as their main language, and they are not familiar with their rights.

“Sometimes the Polish are reluctant to join the unions because of the political connotations it has back home, but when the Scottish Trades Union Congress STUC held a meeting in Glasgow a lot of them came forward with stories about how they hadn’t been paid for holidays and overtime. “We’ve done a lot of work helping asylum seekers, but there is no funding specifically for the needs of people from Eastern Europe and how we handle them.”

The STUC, which is supporting the bill, urged the government to end the practice of employing agency staff at a lower rate. Dave Moxham, deputy general secretary of the STUC, said the problems of migrants being denied access to career advancement would affect UK citizens attempting to get lower paid jobs in the long term and will eventually lead to social problems as the government attempts to get people off benefits and into work.

He blamed backlogs in further education courses for the failure of many migrants to learn English as a second language, despite increases in funding for English-language training from the Scottish and UK governments.

Moxham said: “Employers tend to teach them the minimum needed to get by. But that prevents them moving to other jobs up the skills ladder.

“The Scottish Government has given more funding to ESL (English as a second language) training, but there are still massive queues and backlogs in further education colleges with no resources to teach migrant workers to learn the language. If we don’t get these migrant workers up the career ladder, we are going to end up with lots of them competing with indigenous workers chasing the same low-skilled jobs, which is socially divisive.”

The STUC has called for the government and local authorities to work more closely together to provide contact centres and “umbrella” services for migrants in town centres.

Moxham added: “A lot of the problems of large numbers of migrants involved in prostitution start in the workplace. If, in your first job, it’s not explained that you need to register with the WRS, you immediately fall into an illegal situation. It’s a downward spiral as you have absolutely no recourse to advice and rights.”

The main point of contact for advice for migrant workers is the Scottish Government-backed Relocation Advisory Service. It has provided a range of information services, from getting a job to housing, for 17,000 people since it opened in Glasgow in 2004.

It provides a welcome package with details about living and working in Scotland, plus information on cultural networks, diversity and equality issues, how to seek employment, accommodation, and permits and visa issues.

Other support services for migrant workers across Scotland are overstretched. While many Poles turn to the Catholic Church to make friends, some travel 60 to 90 miles from Glasgow and Edinburgh to seek help from a Dundee drop-in centre.

Doreen Dowdles, who co-ordinates the city’s Advice and Services Centre, deals with a range of issues with the help of an interpreter.

Doreen has been known to take appointments from people by mobile phone at Polish airports as they are preparing to come to Britain.

She said: “We are swamped, dealing with anything from Home Office papers to organising National Insurance to finding accommodation. People tend to come here because there’s nothing like us across the board in Scotland. Dundee doesn’t have a problem with migrants, but we are mopping them all up.”

Maciej Dokurno, an interpreter and well-known figure in the Fife Polish Association who interviewed migrants for the survey, said the Scottish Government overall must do more to ensure information gets through to the community, claiming that money spent on translated leaflets is often wasted as migrants don’t pick them up.

Dokurno said: “I spend up to 40 hours a week on a voluntary basis helping people, attending meetings with Fife Council and trying to give people the basic information they should already have. What is needed is a strategic and organised centre where they can get information in Fife. Dundee is a good example.”

The Polish government is also taking a keen interest in the needs of Poles in Scotland. Last week, two senators met a group of migrants in Fife to discuss some of their concerns.

Senator Andrej Person said: “It’s still a better situation to be Polish in Scotland, than in Ireland and England, as relations between the Polish people and the Scottish are fantastic. We have to listen to their problems and set up strategies so that they understand the language, and their children understand Polish. It’s better to be Polish in Scotland than in London, because there is such a good sense of community here.”

STEWART PATERSON
The Herald

St Roch’s Secondary School in the north of Glasgow educates pupils from a diverse range of cultures and religions.

Since 2000, it has gone from being a predominantly Roman Catholic school to one where 34 different languages are spoken, as many children of asylum seekers are enrolled.

The school has taken part in Black History Month and marks Eid and Divali as well as celebrating Christian festivals. A partnership with a school in the United Arab Emirates has brought children to the school on what is hoped to be the start of an exchange programme.

Dr Hassan Hassan, head of English as an additional language, said: “We have had poets and writers in to perform and do workshops. It all helps.

“When children from asylum-seeker backgrounds came to the school, children were hesitant about socialising and integrating, but the programmes have helped the barriers come down.”

Joe Makngu, 15, from Red Road, came to Scotland from Congo five years ago. He said: “I took part in the Eid fashion show with about 20 others and a black history film. People have been friendly and ask where I am from and what it is like. When people know more, people from their countries are accepted more.”

Headteacher Gerry McGuigan said: “We are a Catholic school, a Christian school, but we want people to appreciate others people’s faiths. If you are ignorant about something you can be scared of it, but understanding makes differences more acceptable.”