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Particularities of immigrants’ integration in the United Kingdom - a new report of the Migration Policy Institute
Mariana Andrei - Communication Coordinator
10 September 2014
The report „Advancing outcomes for all minorities: experiences of mainstreaming immigrant integration policy in the United Kingdom”, prepared by Sundas Ali and Ben Gidley of the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), reviews the unique integration experience of immigrants in the United Kingdom, strongly influenced by its colonial ties with the immigrants' countries of origin.
After the Second World War the United Kingdom received an inflow of immigrants from its former colonies, many of whom were already British citizens, spoke English, were familiar with the administrative organisation and maintained strong ties with what they considered as their mother country. As a result, the British society has not perceived them as immigrants but rather as minorities, and treated them as such.
In these circumstances immigrants' integration did not appear as a matter of urgency, being significantly mitigated by the colonial history and the previous cultural influences. Starting 2010 the challenges of the multicultural British society - accepting diversity, inclusion and equal chances - reflected in the decentralisation of immigrant integration policies and in the placement of integration responsibility to local authorities. Concerns for immigrant integration were thus integrated in local social policies targeting the community as a whole, rather than a specific group of foreigners.
Although decentralisation leaves room for innovating approaches to integration, local authorities have to overcome financial constraints imposed by austerity measures.
The report is one of a series of four country reports (Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Denmark), published together with a general report.
Source: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/advancing-outcomes-all-minorities-experiences-mainstreaming-united-kingdom
After the Second World War the United Kingdom received an inflow of immigrants from its former colonies, many of whom were already British citizens, spoke English, were familiar with the administrative organisation and maintained strong ties with what they considered as their mother country. As a result, the British society has not perceived them as immigrants but rather as minorities, and treated them as such.
In these circumstances immigrants' integration did not appear as a matter of urgency, being significantly mitigated by the colonial history and the previous cultural influences. Starting 2010 the challenges of the multicultural British society - accepting diversity, inclusion and equal chances - reflected in the decentralisation of immigrant integration policies and in the placement of integration responsibility to local authorities. Concerns for immigrant integration were thus integrated in local social policies targeting the community as a whole, rather than a specific group of foreigners.
Although decentralisation leaves room for innovating approaches to integration, local authorities have to overcome financial constraints imposed by austerity measures.
The report is one of a series of four country reports (Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Denmark), published together with a general report.
Source: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/advancing-outcomes-all-minorities-experiences-mainstreaming-united-kingdom
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