Birmingham secures nearly £1m funding to boost integration
Birmingham City Council has received a share of the £19 million funding pot, in the latest allocation from the Controlling Migration Fund (CMF), announced today (8 June 2018).
Birmingham is a proudly multi-cultural and diverse city, as well as being a City of Sanctuary. However, over the past decade it has seen a significant impact from the arrival of asylum seekers and movement from EU accession states.
This has put a considerable pressure on service areas, in particular those relating to housing. As such, Birmingham is to receive almost £1m over two years to help tackle the exploitation by rogue landlords in the private rented sector.
With the money granted, the Council and its partners will also be looking to ensure that victims of modern day slavery and child sexual exploitation are protected. Those exposed to this threat are often very vulnerable, trafficked from outside the UK and end up in the private rented sector, without access to services and unable to assert their rights.
An intelligence-led taskforce model will be created to target:
- The tackling of rogue and criminal landlords
- Informing communities
- Supporting individuals in high risk circumstances
Refugees can be an asset to the whole community and are typically keen to improve their English and find work. This funding also includes £100,000 over two years for Local Authority Asylum Support Liaison Officers to work with refugee communities in the city, as part of a joint initiative between the Home Office and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Councillor Tristan Chatfield, Cabinet Member for Social Inclusion, Community Safety and Equalities, said: “Birmingham is a City of Sanctuary and is proud of the warm welcome it extends to people from all corners of the globe, regardless of their situation.
“This new funding will enable us to support migrants arriving and settling in the city, tackling issues they are potentially vulnerable to, as well as the impact migration has on local communities and services.”
This latest funding allocation brings the national total awarded through the Controlling Migration Fund to £73.5million since its launch.
For more information, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/19-million-funding-for-councils-to-boost-integration
