§ Baroness Whitakerasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will update their 1995 publication The Settlement of Refugees in Britain. [HL1501]
§ Lord Bassam of BrightonThe Home Office is currently developing a programme of research and evaluation on immigration and asylum. This is expected to include survey research on the characteristics and attitudes of asylum-seekers, as well as evaluation of the new asylum support arrangements. It is likely that the new research will provide new information on many of the issues covered in the 1995 publicationThe Settlement of Refugees in Britain.
In addition, the Government believe the time has come to take a fresh look at the position of recognised refugees so that action can be taken to enable them to integrate and take advantage of the opportunities available to them. It is for this reason that they issued the consultation paper on the Integration of Recognised Refugees in the United Kingdom.
9WA
§ Baroness Whitakerasked Her Majesty's Government:
What responses they have had to their consultation document The Integration of Recognised Refugees in the United Kingdom; and what action they will take to improve integration. [HL1502]
§ Lord Bassam of BrightonThe consultation paper on theIntegration of Recognised Refugees in the United Kingdom was circulated to 83 organisations outside the Home Office, including 48 non-governmental organisations. There have been 51 responses so far to the paper. Key issues highlighted include housing, employment and English language provision. We are considering further the proposals for improvement in the co-ordination of refugee integration in the light of the responses received.