Problem or Opportunity? Asylum Seekers, Refugees, Employment and Social Exclusion in Deprived Urban Areas

Abstract

The UK has become a leading proponent of European restrictionalism and has focused its efforts on developing policy that excludes asylum seekers from mainstream society. Dispersal policy has focused upon sending asylum seekers to excluded urban areas where there is an excess of available housing. This paper discusses the potential impacts of this approach on the economic prosperity and social cohesion of UK dispersal areas and focuses specifically on new migrants who arrived under the NASS dispersal programme. It demonstrates that, whilst newly arrived asylum seekers and refugees (ASRs) have both skills and qualifications, they are currently experiencing high levels of unemployment and those who are employed are working in low-skilled jobs with earnings far below the average. The paper contends that the high levels of unemployment and underemployment currently experienced by ASRs may serve to exclude them from society in dispersal areas and in so doing exacerbate the general levels of social exclusion in those areas. It is argued that ASRs could offer new opportunities for deprived areas if initiatives were introduced to help them access work commensurate with their skills and qualifications.

Promoting male refugees’ mental health after they have been granted leave to remain (refugee status)

“…Working towards building their professional skills is if fact recognised as crucial for the effective integration of refugees and it has a positive effect on their wellbeing (e.g. Beiser and Hou, 2001;Bloch, 2002;Phillimore and Goodson, 2006). This is line with Taylor et a.l' s view.…”

“…This does not only impact on them financially, but also on their self-esteem and their mental health in general (Colic-Peisker and Tilbury 2003). This applies particularly to those who are highly qualified, as their skills and talents are often not encouraged to flourish in the new country, and in order to re-enter their profession, they need to follow longer and not always successful routes (Colic-Peisker and Tilbury 2007;Morrice, 2009;Phillimore and Goodson 2006;Shiferaw and Hagos, 2002). Participants therefore suggested that they would like to receive specific training on employment skills.…”

Embedded Integration and Organisational Change in Housing Providers in the UK

“…The Home Office (2005,2009) themselves acknowledged that employment and housing were the two main social policy areas that were fundamental to integration. At the same time, studies have indicated that the lack of stable housing and employment continues to facilitate against refugee integration (Phillimore and Goodson, 2006). The New Labour government's 2005 report (Causes of Ethnic Minority Homelessness, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister) found that eviction from state-provided accommodation was one of the main causes of refugee homelessness.…”

“…Access to appropriate housing and employment has long been viewed as fundamental to refugee integration (see Bloch, 2002;Phillimore and Goodson, 2006), and indeed formed part of the focus of early work on race and housing (i.e. Rex and Moore, 1967).…”

People Seeking Asylum in Australia and their Access to Employment: Just What Do We Know?

“…This suggests that government policies have had a detrimental impact on the ability of asylum seekers who arrived from 2007 to access employment. Integration can be understood as a two way process where both the host country as well as refugees have responsibilities (Phillimore & Goodson 2006;Strang & Ager 2010). This means that governments need to enact policies to facilitate rather than impede the ability of people from a refugee background to resettle in the host country, including the provision of services and supports that enable access to employment (Correa-Velez, Barnett and Gifford 2015; Da Lomba 2010).…”