Transcript Findings from the Migrant Worker Research Project

Translating migration information to a local context: evidence from
the Barnsley Migrant Worker Research project
Robert MacKenzie, Chris Forde,
Zyama Ciupijus
1st April 2011
The Barnsley Migration
Impact Fund project and our research
•
Barnsley Migration Impact Fund Initiative (funded 2009-2010)
•
Aimed to develop infrastructure and support networks to assist with integration on
migrants
•
Develop interventions to help alleviate ‘pressure points’ in areas such as housing,
policing, schooling, young people.
•
As part of this initiative, researchers from University of Leeds were funded to provide
evidence on numbers of migrants, their experiences and needs (Barnsley Migrant
Worker research project)
•
Research took place between December 2009 and May 2010
Aims of the
Migrant worker research project
•
Provide evidence from multiple statistical sources on the migrant population of
Barnsley
•
Identify the work places, schools, places of worship, places for social activities, and
neighbourhoods in Barnsley where migrants were working/living/studying/socialising
•
Provide evidence on the experiences of the migrant population in terms of accessing
services in Barnsley, health, education, youth services, housing ,English language
learning and other support services, particularly targeted towards the migrant
population (both ‘formal’ and ‘grassroots’)
•
Provide evidence on experiences and needs of the migrant population with regards to
work
•
Provide the Steering Group with a better understanding of the issues facing migrants
living/working in Barnsley.
The research
• Project ran from December 09- April 2010
• Two phase approach combining quantitative statistical
analysis and qualitative data
Phase 1: Analysis of existing secondary data sources :
•
•
•
National statistical data: Worker Registration Scheme, National Insurance
Number Database, GP registration records .
All three were disaggregated to local level, allowing for comparative and
longitudinal views
Meta-analysis of locally provided data from Migration Impact Fund Steering
Group
The research (2)
Phase 2: Conversations with migrants
•
•
•
•
Scoping interviews with support groups representatives (9)
In depth interviews with individuals and families (20)
3 Focus groups (30)
Non-participant observation at community centre, church and shop
Phase 1:
Finding Barnsley’s migrant population
•
2510 National insurance numbers issued to migrants from the A10
accession countries between 2002-2009
•
National sources suggest a return rate of 50-60%: this would suggest a
figure of around 1250 migrants remaining in Barnsley
•
Sharp fall in the numbers issued since 2007
•
75% of NI numbers issued to Polish migrants
•
Numbers as proportion of working age population = 1.8%
•
For comparison, proportions are higher in Bradford (4.1%), Doncaster
(4.1%), Wakefield (3.2%), Leeds (2.8%), Sheffield (2.2%), Rotherham
(2.1%)
Worker Registration Scheme Data
•
1200 migrant workers registered with employers in Barnsley between May
2004 and September 2009
•
Numbers peaked in 2007, and have fallen during recession
•
Majority of registrants are young (75% aged between 18 and 34), and male
(61%).
•
Wage rates concentrated around the minimum wage.
•
Registrants concentrated in labouring, food processing, packaging, process
operatives
Reflections on WRS/NINo data sources
•
National Insurance numbers and WRS data useful for comparing across
Local Authorities/regions
•
Also useful for looking at changes over time
•
Unlikely to suffer from ‘double counting’ problems
Reflections on data sources (2)
•
Neither NINO or WRS identifies outflows
•
WRS only covers 8 Central European countries
•
WRS does not cover self-employed or family members of registered
migrants
•
•
Both are more likely to pick up migrants in formalised, regular employment
WRS is ‘employer-led’ – so may pick up region of work, rather than
residence
•
NINo more inclusive
- potential to pick up spouses/partners who are not working
- more likely to identify residence of migrants
…but it will not pick up non-regular (‘illegal’) migrant workers
Other ‘official’ sources of data
•
‘Flag 4’ GP registrations
– There were 4573 registrations with GPs in Barnsley by new arrivals from outside
the UK between 2001 and 2008 (includes economic migrants and other new
arrivals)
– Registrations peaked in 2007
– Registrations in 2008 equated to 0.4% of the Barnsley population
– This proportion is much lower than many other local authorities in Yorkshire
•
Outflows of migrants
– no robust local authority data
– ‘Intended length of stay’ responses by Worker Registration Scheme respondents
gives some indication
– 57% of respondents in Barnsley said their intended length of stay was less than
3 months
Reflections on GP data
•
Flag 4’s may be generated when an individual registers with an NHS GP if:
– An individual was born outside the UK and enters England and Wales for the first
time and registers with a NHS GP
– An individual’s registration will also generate a Flag 4 if the previous address of
an individual is reported as outside the United Kingdom, and time spent outside
the UK is more than three months.
•
Data do not allow us to distinguish between migrant workers, asylum
seekers and refugees
•
Migrant workers much less likely to register with a GP than other groups
•
Perhaps data is most useful for tracking changes over time
Data from local agencies
working with migrants
•
The following data were provided to us by local agencies
•
This helped build a more representative picture of migrants in Barnsley
•
Schools data
– Language as a mother tongue in schools in Barnsley
– Data on proportion of pupils in Barnsley schools for whom English is a
second language
•
Berneslei homes data on residents’ ethnicity
•
Barnsley Community Safety Partnership data on racial harassment
Schools data
Table 21: Central Eastern European languages as mother tongue in Barnsley schools
(2009)
Language
Primary schools
Secondary
All
Czech
0
1
1
Estonian
3
0
3
Lithuanian
4
3
7
Latvian
8
6
14
Polish
71
33
104
Romanian
1
0
1
Russian
18
10
28
Slovak
0
1
1
Slovenian
1
0
1
Hungarian
No records
No records
No records
Bulgarian
No records
No records
No records
Schools data
Table 22: Barnsley LA schools – primary (2009): the figures on pupils for whom
English is a second language
Rank
School
Number
pupils
of % of all
students
1
Summer Lane Primary
34
10.6
2
Joseph Locke Primary
27
8
3
Doncaster Road Primary
25
9
4
Holy Rood Catholic Primary
25
10.7
5
Pipers Grove Primary
23
13.6
6
St Michael’s Primary
13
9.4
7
Ward Green Primary
12
3.1
8
Keresforth Primary
11
4.2
9
Darfield Valley Primary
10
4.9
10
Athersley South Primary
10
3.2
Schools data
Table 23: Barnsley LA schools - secondary (2009): the figures on pupils for whom
English is a second language
Rank
School
Number
pupils
of % of all
students
1
Edward Sheerien
34
5
2
St Michael’s
30
4.4
3
Holgate
29
3
4
The Kingstone
25
1.8
5
Wombwell High
15
1.6
6
Darton High
15
1.4
7
Penistone Grammar
15
1
8
The Dearne High
15
1.3
9
Priory School and Sport College
9
1
10
Royston High
6
1.1
Phase 2:
Conversations with Migrants
•
Coming to Barnsley
– Decision informed by variety of motives
– Social contacts and labour market intermediaries played an important
role
•
Working in Barnsley
– Employment concentrated in labour intensive, low paid jobs
– Major employers: Repak, Cranswick, Symphony, Koyo, Next, Ventura,
Fosters Bakery, Freshpack
– Long working hours the norm
– Reports of bad treatment
– For some, work experience has improved over time
Conversations with migrants
•
Qualitative data provided insight into the experiences and needs of migrants
•
This allowed us to examine in more detail some of the areas of interest to
the Barnsley Migration impact Initiative
•
Qualitative approach allowed key themes to ‘emerge’
Living in Barnsley
Neighbourhoods and Housing
Geographic dispersal of migrant community
•
Some concentration in: Sheffield Road, Doncaster Road and Summer Lane
•
Important locations for new arrivals (proximity to workplaces) but longer
residence leads to search for better housing in other areas
•
Largely reliant on private rental accommodation
•
Long waiting lists for public housing
•
Housing churn leading to problems with developing relationships and
communication with welfare services
Social, Religious
and Community Activities
•
Varied social activities
•
Little suggestion of either concentration or exclusion from particular locations (e.g.
pubs, bars)
•
Socialise with migrant communities in other towns and cities
•
Holly Rood Church important centre for Polish community
Experience of Intolerance
•
Experiences of intolerance widespread
•
Manifestations of xenophobia go beyond race
•
Poles often targeted on basis of numbers and perceived impact on local employment
•
Increased since the economic downturn
•
However, participants stressed their positive experiences of living in Barnsley
•
Reported defending Barnsley against the perceptions of others
The Experiences of Young People
•
Generally positive experiences of school
•
Good interaction with local young people
•
Desire to finish school in UK and go on to higher education and/or employment
•
Retain strong attachment to Polish origins
•
Limited options for leisure time
Accessing Healthcare,
English and Community Based Support
•
Healthcare
– Waiting times for appointments
– Difficulty accessing specialists
– Paracetamol culture
– Lag in provision for chronic conditions
– Communication issues due to language
•
English Language Training
– See as key avoiding social exclusion and accessing services
– Problems with access to ESOL classes due to working hours
– Gender dimension to accessing language training
•
Important role played by voluntary organisations and community groups
Conclusions
•
Publicly available data useful fro tracking trends, and for comparisons between local
authorities
•
But these can only provide a partial picture of the population of new arrivals, their
experiences and needs
•
These data may help to identify key issues
•
Local agency data along with qualitative data necessary for a more complete picture