1. COHESION & MIGRATION
Chris Eade Assistant Director, Communities & Regeneration Place Directorate

2. POLICY CONTEXT Building cohesive communities
Commission on integration and cohesion
Our Shared Future – 57 recommendations
Public Service Agreement (PSA 21) on community cohesion
£50 Million investment
Local Area Agreement (LAA) – NI 1 – The percentage of people who believe that people from different backgrounds get on well together

3. PSA 3
Ensure controlled, fair migration that protects the public and contributes to economic growth. This PSA focuses on four key delivery priorities:
Strengthening UK borders by using tougher checks abroad so that only those with permission can travel to the UK; and ensuring that the Government knows who leaves so that action can be taken against those who break the rules;
Fast-tracking asylum decisions, removing those whose claims fail and integrating those who need protection;
Ensuring and enforcing compliance with UK immigration laws, removing the most harmful people first and denying the privileges of the UK to those here illegally; and
Boosting Britain’s economy by bringing the right skills here from around the world, and ensuring that this country is easy to visit legally
Lead Department – UKBA

4. Points Based System
Five tiers of managed migration, instead of the more than 80 that there was previously:
Tier 1 – Highly skilled individuals to contribute to growth and productivity
Tier 2 – Skilled workers with a job offer to fill gaps in the labour market
Tier 3 – Limited numbers of low skilled workers to fill temporary labour shortages – currently suspended and replaced by Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS)
Tier 4 – Students
Tier 5 – Youth mobility and temporary workers: people allowed working in the UK for a limited period of time to satisfy non-economic objectives

5. Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill
The Bill published in parliament on 15th Jan 09
Migration Impacts Forum (MIF) – Chaired by Sadik Khan MP
The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC)
Funding – Migration Impacts Fund (MIF) – national announcement on fund size on the 19th March

6. Regional Picture
The West Midlands has a higher proportion of its population who are not in the "White: British" group than any other region apart from London. (WM 15.9%, England 15.3%, London 41.8%)
The largest settlements of migrants from the A8 from 2004 to 2007 are in Herefordshire (7,140) and Birmingham (7,110)
90% of migrants are employed. It is estimated that migrants make around a 4-5% annual contribution to the West Midlands’ economy

7. Integration Birmingham picture – Somalian community
Herefordshire – seasonal workers – initial teething problems - in 2006 they produced a web site
Stoke-on-Trent – NASS dispersal area – far right activity