West Midlands Strategic Migration Partnership (WMSMP)
The West Midlands Strategic Migration Partnership (formerly The West Midlands Strategic Partnership for Asylum and Refugees - WMSPARS) is the principal regional policy forum on refugee, asylum and migrant issues. It is based within the Regional Partnership Centre, co-located with the West Midlands Regional Assembly and the West Midlands Local Government Association.
WMSMP is one of eleven regional consortia across the UK, established as a result of the Immigration & Asylum Act 1999 which legislated that asylum seekers would be dispersed to regions across the UK. All regional consortia are core funded by the Home Office and were set up to co-ordinate activities regarding the dispersal, accommodation and support of asylum seekers and the integration and social inclusion of refugees.
WMSMP has developed in response to changes in dispersal and migrant patterns, numbers and policy requirements and last year was asked by the Home Office to include new migrants in its remit. The Partnership aims to oversee asylum seeker dispersal and facilitate the integration of refugees and migrants in the West Midlands by effective multi-agency working across the region.
The Secretariat - which is now made up of five staff - seeks to:
- Work in partnership to gather regional data and monitor and evaluate the impact of policies and influence policy decisions
- Promote the inclusion of asylum seekers, refugees and new migrants through a multi-agency approach
- Identify and seek to address gaps in resources and service provision
- Ensure relevant organisations are aware of the needs of asylum seekers, unsuccessful asylum seekers, new refugees and migrants
- Partner with local, regional and national bodies including government departments to deliver on specific initiatives.
The WMSMP Board is made up of representatives from the statutory, private, voluntary and community sectors and refugees themselves.
The Partnership structure also includes:
- Contract Delivery Group of regional contract providers for asylum accommodation and support
- Inclusion Strategy Monitoring Group to oversee implementation of the Inclusion Strategy
- Regional Implementation Groups (RIGs) to take forward strategy actions
- Regional Refugee Forum of refugees, their organisations and network
Latest News
A new 'Welcome to Birmingham' website was formally launched on 23 February 2009 by the West Midlands Strategic Migration Partnership at their Regional 'Migration Matters' Conference. Accessed at www.welcometobirmingham.org.uk, the website is a guide to information, support and services in Birmingham for people new to the city... more...