The migration and settlement of refugees in Britain / Alice Bloch.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bloch, Alice, 1964-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Refugees--Government policy--Great Britain.

Refugees.

Refugees--Government policy--European Union countries.

Refugees--Government policy.

European Union countries.

Great Britain.

Physical Description:

xiii, 229 pages : illustrations, map ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.

Summary:

The increase in the number of asylum seekers arriving in Europe has placed the issue of migration high on the policy agendas of national governments and the European Union. This book analyzes the impact of policy on the social and economic settlement of refugees in Britain in that context. The issues explored include: current UK and EU migration policy; the history of migration to Britain and policy responses; theories of migration and migrant settlement; social and economic settlement of refugees in Britain - including language, employment, social networks, the migratory process, community, development and policy recommendations.

Contents:

Theoretical and thematic concerns 1

The categorization of forced migrants 6

Refugees 8

Asylum seekers 9

Exceptional Leave to Remain 10

Temporary protection 11

The case study and the research basis 12

The London Borough of Newham 13

Newham's ethnic minority communities: demography and geography 14

The case study groups 15

2. Migration to Britain and Policy Responses 21

Early migrants 21

Migration: 1800 until 1914 22

Migration: 1914 until 1945 26

Migration: 1945 until 1961 29

Eastern European displaced persons and European Volunteer Workers 29

Migration from Commonwealth countries 31

Controlling migration: 1962 until 1988 33

Demography and geography of ethnic groups at the end of the twentieth century 38

Race relations 39

3. Current UK and European Policy 43

Refugee migration at the end of the twentieth century 43

Policy responses to refugees at the end of the twentieth century 44

Detention 47

Immigration legislation in the 1990s 47

Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act, 1993 47

Asylum and Immigration Act, 1996 48

Immigration and Asylum Act, 1999 50

The policy of dispersal 51

The EU context 54

Harmonization of asylum policy 56

Provisions for asylum seekers in European countries 59

4. Theories of Refugee Migration and Migration to Britain 64

Theories of migration 65

Neo-classical economic equilibrium perspective 65

Historical-structuralist approach 66

Migration systems approach 68

Refugees: a unique type of migrant 70

Trafficking and smuggling 73

Refugee migration to Britain 74

Seeking asylum in Britain 74

Reasons for coming to Britain 75

Preferred asylum destination 76

5. Theories of Migrant Settlement 80

Theories of migrant settlement 80

Policies of receiving countries 82

Citizenship 84

Social networks 88

Economic integration 91

Migration, aspirations and settlement: the links 95

6. Language, Education and Training 99

The Urban Programme 100

Newham: the economic context 101

Language and literacy skills 102

Language and literacy skills in the first language 102

English language and literacy skills on arrival to Britain 103

English language skills and language learning 104

Learning English as a second language: provision 104

Attendance at English language courses 105

Finding out about ESOL and getting on a course 107

Views about English language courses 108

Education and qualifications 111

Education and qualifications on arrival to Britain 111

Study in Britain 112

Training 115

7. Labour Market Participation in Britain 120

Ethnic minority employment 120

Refugee employment 124

Employment before coming to Britain 124

Employment in Britain 125

Working hours and pay 127

Barriers to employment 129

Past employment in Britain 130

Labour market aspirations 132

Unused skills and barriers to employment among those seeking work 133

Methods of job seeking 133

Sources of information and advice about job seeking 135

Areas where training was wanted 138

8. The Social Settlement of Refugees 142

Perceptions of Britain as home 142

Aspirations for return migration 145

Living in Britain: areas of residence, housing and households 147

Areas of residence 147

Housing tenure 152

Household composition 153

Language spoken at home 154

Life in Newham: social interaction 155

Meeting people and making friends 157

9. Refugee Community Organizations and Volunteering 161

The role of refugee community organizations 161

Refugee community organizations in Newham 162

Using refugee community organizations 163

Information and advice 164

Community organizations and the statutory sector 166

Participation in community activities 168

Differences in community association 169

Voluntary activity 172

Volunteering 172

Type of voluntary work 173

Key findings: economic settlement 178

Language, training, education and employment 178

Skills base 180

Key findings: social settlement 181

Refugee migration 181

Structural barriers in the country of asylum 183

Factors affecting settlement 184

Factors that affect settlement: the views of refugees 187

Factors that affect settlement 187

Ways of improving life in Britain for refugees 191

Policy recommendations and the 1999 Act 194

Structural barriers to settlement 194

Social settlement: community and dispersal 196

Economic settlement: language, education, training and employment 197

The implication of European harmonization 199

Appendix Methodology 202.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 205-217) and index.

ISBN:

0333969235

OCLC:

49225591