Focus on the South West

The rise in the number of foreign workers has brought new and important challenges. Cllr Roger Hutchinson, chair of the South West LGA, outlines how the region is working with partners on issues surrounding migrant workers.

In the South West there has been a well-established regional structure for bringing together a wide range of partners in relation to working with asylum seekers and new refugees. This approach, led by the South West Local Government Association (SWLGA), has proved very successful and partners from the statutory, voluntary and private sectors have worked well together recognising common goals but also valuing the diversity of the agenda that they have brought to the table.

Over the last few years international migration and the rise in numbers of migrant workers has presented challenges that have forced their way up the region’s agenda. Migration is a vitally important issue in the South West. The region is an attractive destination for migrant workers, who contribute their skills and labour to increasing the region’s economic prosperity. It is also an important destination for asylum seekers and refugees, many of whom are fleeing persecution in their home country. Migration brings a number of benefits to the South West but there are also challenges such as ensuring that migrants are able to access local services, that they can receive appropriate information and that they are able to integrate into the community.

We recognised that there was a need for a regional strategic approach to migration, encompassing both migrant workers and asylum issues. To address this, the regional strategic board for migration was formed by the SWLGA in order to bring together key regional stakeholders to deal with these challenges. The board plays an overarching role in developing regional strategies on migration and ensuring that elected members are able to take ownership of regional issues. It reports to the SWLGA executive committee.

The board forms the overall coordinating body of the region’s strategic migration partnership but we were anxious not to lose the focus on the specific needs of the two groups. To overcome that danger, we have set up two forums, one on migrant workers, the other on asylum and new refugees, also reporting to the board. With this structure now in place, the benefits of information exchange, sharing good, and developing best practice, is already becoming evident.

Each forum is identifying its own priorities and developing work programmes. The most recent meeting of the migrant worker forum brought together representatives from 16 different organisations all anxious to share with and learn from each other. There are many exciting and dynamic initiatives being developed and with the South West being so geographically large, stretching half the length of England, it’s not always possible for Cornwall to be aware of developments in Gloucestershire, or for Bournemouth to know about those in Bridgewater, for example.

We believe that our structure goes a long way towards overcoming this and ensures that we are moving forward as a region – utilising the many benefits migrant workers bring, and protecting the rights and needs of these groups. We are now able to share ideas and thinking, identify challenges and future trends and to pool thinking and resources – all leading to the provision of an effective and responsive service across the region.

Cllr Roger Hutchinson is chair of the SWLGA and the regional strategic board for migration.