Councils across England are set to receive a further £28 million to help ease pressures on local services resulting from recent migration. This brings total funding from the Government’s Controlling Migration Fund to over £100 million.
From tackling rogue landlords, helping alleviate rough sleeping or boosting community integration through English Language lessons, the Fund has helped deliver rapid results for communities.
The latest funding, announced by Communities Minister Lord Bourne, will be allocated to 123 projects across England.
Councillor Martin Griggs, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Communities at Boston said: “Boston Borough Council is honoured to be the lead accountable body for the countywide Support and Reconnection programme. I look forward to the programme being able to deliver clear benefits both for our overall communities and for some of the most vulnerable who, through no fault of their own, are currently consigned to a life on the streets. The Support and Reconnection programme will offer clear support pathways to be able to improve their living standards here or be able to return to their homeland.”
Communities Minister, Lord Bourne said: “Whether its tackling rogue landlords who exploit vulnerable migrants, helping new arrivals learn English or supporting care leavers to access education, the Controlling Migration Fund is delivering results across the country and providing services for the benefit of all.
“Each community is unique in the challenges it faces, but the projects we’ve funded have shown that positive change is possible when people come together and think innovatively about how to support the whole community.”
Case Studies
Stockport
Stockport Council used funding to develop a bilingual teaching assistant programme to support children in early years who start school or nursery with little or no English. These assistants provide these young children with the support they need to have a successful start. The initiative has delivered impressive results; and in 2017/18 after providing bilingual support to 201 children with English as an additional language, only 26 (13%) required support the following year while only three of the 65 nursery children benefiting from the intervention needed ongoing support.
Manchester Strangeways
Manchester City Council, a recipient of today’s additional funding, has already shown great results from its joint work with other agencies, including immigration enforcement, to disrupt and dismantle counterfeit trade in the Strangeways area. The project has removed over 100 counterfeit traders from the area using the council’s corporate landlord powers as well as achieving significant seizures of counterfeit goods, illicit tobacco and arrests for various offences including immigration offences.
Fenland
Fenland Council is receiving ongoing funding to support the continued operation of Wisbech Emergency Night Shelter which helps people to find more settled housing, employment and training and to access medical services more efficiently. The Fund has already supported an additional four beds at the shelter. This has reduced pressures on local services and community tension in the area with 84% of the clients not returning to the streets in 2016/17, rising to 86.4% in 2017/18.
Enfield
Enfield has secured funding to extend its ‘Operation Rogue Landlord’ project. The project will focus on targeted inspections and enforcement in areas where more vulnerable residents in the community are most likely to be affected by poor housing conditions, overcrowding and exploitation. The project’s interventions have yielded positive outcomes so far including 1,950 property inspections and 1,014 enforcement notices.