Cohesion

WMSMP has made significant progress in the strategic development of community cohesion in relation to refugees, asylum seekers and new migrants in the West Midlands.

This work has involved bringing relevant partners together from a range of sectors and areas across the Region, sharing information and existing good practice on community cohesion and developing and progressing a Regional action plan based on the key cohesion actions in the Regional Social Inclusion Strategy.

Strategic links have also been made with Local Authorities, Local Strategic Partnerships, Community Safety Partnerships and Cohesion Forums across the Region and work undertaken to include refugee and migrant issues in cohesion strategies, action plans and programmes as appropriate.

Regional Implementation Group

The Community Cohesion Regional Implementation Group (RIG) was established in September 2006 and meets bimonthly. It is chaired by Chief Inspector Paul Giannasi, currently seconded from Staffordshire Police to the CJS Unit at the Home Office, and is convened and supported by WMSMP.

Its membership includes representation from the Police, UK Borders Agency, Crown Prosecution Service, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Local Authorities and voluntary, faith and community organisations involved in cohesion at both strategic and operational levels across the West Midlands.

The action plan for the group includes a range of cohesion activities: myth-busting; inter-group contact; community safety; refugee participation; Regional co-ordination. Regional progress is measured against this plan at each Cohesion RIG meeting and has been made in the following areas in particular:

• Raising awareness
• Orientation information
• Inter-group projects

The Cohesion RIG Terms of Reference can be downloaded for more information.

Raising Awareness

A key achievement of the Cohesion RIG has been the development and online publication of 'Where Our Journeys Meet', a regional resource for raising awareness on refugee, asylum and migrant issues. The group worked to collate, adapt and develop relevant information, material and activities used across the Region and nationally into a comprehensive, accurate and up-to-date awareness-raising pack.

WMSMP has received considerable positive feedback about the usefulness of this resource for building understanding about the asylum process and the experiences of people from refugee and migrant backgrounds. Organisations at local, regional and national levels such as Education Departments, Health Services and Police Forces as well as in the voluntary sector have reported using the resource to develop their understanding, attitudes and practice and there are links on several related websites.

The training course 'Understanding and Responding to the Asylum, Refugee and Migration Experience' has been developed using material from this resource and is being delivered by members of the Cohesion RIG across the Region as part of the WMLGA training programme and in-house on request by agencies. Funding is also being sought to deliver the training at a local level to help build safer and more cohesive communities in areas facing cohesion challenges linked to new migration

Orientation Information

WMSMP and RIG members are working with partners in several areas of the West Midlands to develop local Welcome information for new arrivals and have ensured that relevant information, experiences and expertise are shared across the Region.

A key achievement is the recently launched Welcome to Birmingham website. The website is a guide to information, support and services in Birmingham for people new to the city. It can be accessed at www.welcometobirmingham.org.uk and contains over 100 pages of information in plain English as well as Welcome videos and scripts in 7 different languages. The site is targeted at all new arrivals and also useful to those who work with them. It can be navigated by migration status or by topic area. Links are provided to translated information and to other websites that provide information in more detail.

Support has also been provided to Local Authorities to develop specific information for asylum seekers and to ASPIRE for their Birmingham and Solihull Asylum Seeker Welcome Pack.

Inter-group Projects

Through the Cohesion RIG, the need for co-ordination and collaboration in education work on refugee and migrant issues was identified. Organisations involved with awareness raising work in schools in Birmingham were brought together and ideas and possibilities for joint working discussed in 2008. A Regional event is now being planned for November 2009 to enable the sharing of practice, experience and resources on working with new arrivals and on new arrival issues in schools across the West Midlands.

For more information about Cohesion work, contact Clare Daley at WMSMP.