Emergency funding demanded as 45,000 migrants settle in city
MORE than 45,000 migrants have settled in Birmingham in three years, putting huge pressure on schools, the NHS and housing services across the cash-strapped city.
Now Birmingham City Council is now asking for £860,000 emergency Government funds to help it cope.
The impact of the influx of new arrivals is hitting communities in west Birmingham, including Nechells, Aston, Lozells, Newtown and Handsworth. Leafier communities are barely touched.
Part of the cash will be used to fund a dedicated immigration officer, at a cost of around £59,000 for a year, to support newcomers.
Schools, NHS services, housing and the benefits system are all facing additional pressures from migration, says a report put before the city council’s Cabinet this week.
“Several wards and neighbourhoods which have become a particular focal point for new arrivals and communities,” it states.
“This is presenting several challenges to services and communities in those neighbourhoods, particularly in West Birmingham where the issue is particularly acute.”
The report says there is increasing pressure on schools due to demand for places and rising numbers of children with English as a second language; on the NHS due to additional GP registrations and demand on primary care; and on available private rented and social housing.
There is also higher demand on benefits and local unskilled jobs, particularly in the initial stages of resettlement and integration.
In 2016, the total number of new refugees and migrants arriving in Birmingham was 15,409 – the equivalent of 1.4 per cent of the total Birmingham population. During the same year, 6,364 migrants, refugees and UK citizens left the city, giving a net migration of 9,045.
In the two years since, at least the same number have arrived into Birmingham. That is enough people – more than 45,000 – to fill Villa Park to capacity.
The report adds: “Beyond the geographical issues within Birmingham are also the stories of missed opportunities and lost potential, where migrants and refugees arriving in the city for a better life, safety and security are ending up in crisis, destitution and long-term unemployment.
“The initial arrival and transition to living independently in Birmingham can be a risky and fragile one, and one where hope and aspiration can easily be replaced by crisis and destitution.”
The cash bid for £862,542 has been made to the Ministry for Housing Communities and Local Government’s (MHCLG) Controlling Migration Fund. If successful, the project will be launched in February, delivered by project partners.
The city council is already facing an austerity-fuelled cash crisis and is consulting on £50 million of cuts for next year.
But it is an officially-recognised City of Sanctuary, illustrating its commitment to be a welcoming place of safety for all, offering sanctuary from violence and persecution.
The initial arrival and transition to living independently in Birmingham can be a risky and fragile one, and one where hope and aspiration can easily be replaced by crisis and destitution.