Blog
Sep 7, 2010
3 Comment(s)
“The more things change, the more things stay the same” as the French tell us. Or the words of the legendary Hollywood film producer, Sam Goldwyn, “It’s déjà vu, all over again....”
Did immigration minister Damian Green really say anything new when he spoke to an audience in the basement of the Royal Commonwealth Society in central London on Monday night? His claim that the coalition’s policies would be established on a sound evidence base was an echo of the approach outlined by one of one of Labour’s early immigration ministers, Barbara Roche, way back in March 2001 when she introduced the perspective paper ‘Bridging the information gaps’. Nothing new there.
Sep 6, 2010
2 Comment(s)
Immigration minister Damian Green yesterday said that the new government is not in favour of Labour's policy of making migrants ‘earn’ British citizenship through compulsory voluntary work. This reflects recommendations put forward in a policy paper published earlier this year by Migrant and Refugee Communities Forum and Migrants Rights Network.
According to an article in the Daily Mail, Damian Green described the idea of "earned" citizenship as ‘half-baked’, which seems to indicate that the new government is not in favour of Labour's policy of making migrants ‘earn’ British citizenship by doing regulated volunteering, otherwise known as ‘active citizenship’.
Sep 6, 2010
1 Comment(s)
The French resident and his Italian government allies are keen to see how free movement rights can be reigned back in Europe. They have invited a select group of immigration chiefs to discuss this in Paris today. I've blogged my views on what this is all about on the New Statesman's blogsite 'The Staggers'. Have a look at that and feed in your comments and experiences....
Here's the link to article on the New Statesman's website.....
Sep 3, 2010
Our colleagues at NHS Newham have produced an information video on how to access health services in the borough. Even though focused on Newham, it could be useful to migrant groups in other boroughs.
Accessing health is an important issue for migrants, especially those who are new to the country. Primary health care is a term used to describe GPs, Dentists and Pharmacists and in the UK it is generally the first point of contact with health services. Accessing primary health should be possible for everyone who lives in the UK. It is important to access healthcare through the National Health Service (NHS) as this can prevent serious health consequences for people. However, a number of migrants do not access primary health either because they do not know how to or they encounter barriers in doing so.
Sep 3, 2010
London’s mayor once again states that he backs the idea of granting citizenship to long-term irregular migrants. But what can he do to push the agenda in the areas where he has influence?
Last night, at a City Hall reception to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the independence struggles in Latin America, Mayor Boris Johnson reiterated his support for a pathway into legality for irregular migrants. Boris has not shied away from the issue and I have heard him pledge his support for a regularisation on at least two more public occasions in the past year (at the launch of the mayor’s refugee integration strategy last December and at the Integrating Cities conference in February). Last night he stated that he continued to support a regularisation despite opposition from the Conservative party during the last election.
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