New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy 2018 to 2022: evaluation

4. Discussion

Evaluating the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy

The objectives of the evaluation were to assess how the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy had been implemented, the progress made towards achieving its intended outcomes, and what learning could be used to inform future policy and practice. The four intended outcomes of the Strategy were:

1. Refugees and asylum seekers live in safe, welcoming and cohesive communities and are able to build diverse relationships and connections

2. Refugees and asylum seekers understand their rights, responsibilities and entitlements and are able to exercise them to pursue full and independent lives

3. Refugees and asylum seekers are able to access well-coordinated services, which recognise and meet their rights and needs

4. Policy, strategic planning and legislation, which have an impact on refugees and asylum seekers, are informed by their rights, needs and aspirations.

Understanding, awareness and reach of the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy

The New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy was generally well received by the stakeholders who had engaged with it. These included participants from local authorities, government, academic, third sector and community organisations and groups. Awareness of the Strategy did not vary by stakeholder type. They appreciated its message of welcoming refugees and people seeking asylum to Scotland and its focus on partnership working, values which aligned well with those of their organisations. The perceived relevance of the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy’s outcomes to the work of the stakeholder organisations varied, with the first outcome ‘Refugees and asylum seekers live in safe, welcoming and cohesive communities and are able to build diverse relationships and connections’ reported as most relevant.

In terms of the Strategy’s reach, there was a consensus that those who worked in relevant governmental and policy circles, and organisations working in the sector or focusing on a specific issue of particular relevance (e.g., language), were aware of it, but that awareness beyond this was more sporadic. Stakeholders perceived that extending the reach of the next iteration of the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy would have additional benefits in terms of increasing awareness and understanding of the issues faced by refugees and people seeking asylum, among host communities, service providers and government departments.

To increase awareness and engagement with the next iteration of the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy, stakeholders would like to see a wider range of organisations and individuals involved in the development and implementation of the Strategy. These included refugees and people seeking asylum, host communities and the wider public, in addition to local and national government and third sector and community organisations.

Implementation

The evaluation sought to understand how the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy had been implemented and what had worked well and been challenging in terms of its implementation.

The Strategy had been used in a range of ways. These included using the Strategy to:

• inform the development of new, or improve existing, programmes of work
• seek funding for new and existing integration work
• initiate new collaborations and partnership working.

The majority of stakeholder interviewees and survey respondents reported that the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy had a ‘very positive’ or ‘positive’ impact on the work of their organisation and highlighted successful aspects of the implementation of the Strategy. The close relationships forged between local authorities, third sector organisations, community groups, and the New Scots partnership (SRC, COSLA, the Scottish Government and the University of Glasgow) were viewed as key facilitating factors in implementing the Strategy. Stakeholders particularly highlighted the benefits of building new connections and networking between organisations which facilitated better information sharing and enhanced the support offered to refugees and people seeking asylum by signposting to support they previously were unaware existed. The positive messaging of the Strategy along with the commitment and resilience of staff in the sector were considered critical in light of a lack of funding attached to its implementation. The AMIF project funding was particularly well received as a result. The adaptability and relevance of the Strategy in the face of a frequently changing UK policy landscape and new resettlement programmes were also recognised by some stakeholders.

However, there were aspects of the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy’s implementation which it was reported had not worked as well. A key barrier to implementing the Strategy was the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic which was perceived to have reduced individuals’ and organisations’ abilities to achieve the Strategy’s actions as staff and resources were diverted elsewhere. The pandemic was also felt to have contributed to staff burnout across the sector, which impacted on the success of the New Scots theme groups in implementing their programmes of work.

A perceived lack of funding or specific budget for staffing both within government and across the sector, and other resources associated with the Strategy was considered by many stakeholders as one of the most significant factors hindering its success. Without funding, the Strategy’s implementation was said to be reliant on people’s goodwill, their willingness to support the actions of the Strategy and their ability to make time for any associated work. To enable future iterations of the Strategy to be implemented effectively, stakeholders called for further funding for local authorities, third sector organisations and community groups to deliver services and support to refugees and people seeking asylum. This might be challenging in the current economic climate and the Scottish Government and delivery partners will have to consider what funding is possible for the next iteration of the Strategy.

Stakeholders highlighted the difficulties of working within the UK Government’s policy agenda which was viewed as being at odds with the more supportive approach of the Scottish Government. However, concerns were also expressed about the governance of the Strategy, with some viewing the lack of a Scottish legislative framework and siloed working within Scottish Government departments as barriers to effectively implementing the Strategy. Tensions between national and local implementation and impact were also evident, with a perceived lack of coordination between central and local government in Scotland, and between these governmental bodies and other groups. Stakeholders called for greater co-ordination between Scottish Government departments to ensure the rights and entitlements of refugees and people seeking asylum are considered across all policy areas.

Insufficient coverage of services appeared to result in a lack of, and inconsistent access to, ESOL provision and other services (such as education, mental health support, employment opportunities, housing, childcare support and internet connectivity), and these were also cited as barriers to implementation of the Strategy. It was not within the scope of the evaluation to map out the coverage and consistency or service provision across each local authority area. To garner this information, further research and consultation with organisations and communities across Scotland is required.

Low awareness of the Strategy among the public and refugees and people seeking asylum, and the Ukraine war (as a result of the redirecton of organisational resources towards new refugee resettlement programmes) were also said to have hindered implementation.

Progress made towards achieving intended outcomes

This evaluation sought to understand what progress has been made towards achieving the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy outcomes, and the extent to which progress is sustainable. Multiple strands of data collection and analysis have informed this evaluation. Across the research with stakeholders (survey and interviews), interviews with refugees and people seeking asylum, and the work with the AMIF-funded projects, a mixed picture was observed in terms of the extent to which the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy’s four outcomes were perceived to have been achieved.

It is important to note that the Strategy outcomes are ambitious and long-term in nature. Therefore, the work done to implement it in the last four years has contributed towards these outcomes rather than necessarily achieving them.

Furthermore, there are factors, such as global events, that are not directly in control of the Strategy partners or the Scottish Government that have an impact on the extent to which progress towards these outcomes can be made.

Outcome 1

Views on the extent to which refugees and people seeking asylum live in safe, welcoming and cohesive communities and are able to build diverse relationships and connections varied. There were refugees and people seeking asylum who said that they had received a very warm welcome in Scotland and viewed it as their home. This was helped by the development of strong connections with those in the local community, and intensive support from some local authorities and a wide range of third sector and community organisations. Opportunities for employment and volunteering were also viewed as critical in terms of supporting mental health and English language development, cultivating a sense of belonging, and enabling refugees and people seeking asylum to build diverse relationships and connections with the local community.

However, the extent to which host communities were reported to have made refugees and people seeking asylum feel safe and welcome varied. Experiences of racism and a lack of cultural understanding led to situations of refugees and people seeking asylum feeling particularly isolated, unwelcome and unsafe. It is worth acknowledging that issues such as racism continue to blight society, widespread societal prejudice is still evident, and it is perhaps unrealistic to expect a strategy focused on integration to tackle such overarching issues in isolation. Language barriers, lack of or poor access to transport, housing, employment and volunteering opportunities also impacted on the extent to which refugees and people seeking asylum felt safe, welcome and able to build diverse relationships and connections. These were challenges experienced by refugees and people seeking asylum in both urban and rural areas. The fact that people seeking asylum are entitled to less support resulted in these challenges being experienced more acutely.

Outcome 2

Over half of survey respondents (53%) said that Outcome 2: ‘refugees and asylum seekers understand their rights, responsibilities and entitlements and are able to exercise them to pursue full and independent lives’, had been successfully achieved. A majority (59%) also either ‘strongly agreed’ or ‘agreed’ that ‘the Strategy had supported increase awareness among refugees and asylum seekers of their rights and entitlements’. Local authorities, organisations and community groups were described as playing a vital role in ensuring that refugees and people seeking asylum understood their rights, responsibilities and entitlements in a wide range of areas, including: the asylum process, housing, welfare, employment and education. Language support, in the form of ESOL classes, access to interpreters and translated information also played an important role. However, such support was not available to all, and there was evidence that the coverage and delivery of services varied in different areas. Refugees and people seeking asylum also experienced barriers to understanding and having their rights, responsibilities and entitlements recognised, with inconsistent access to ESOL, translated information and interpreters. Further work is required to fully understand how well services and support for refugees and people seeking asylum are delivered and coordinated in different local authority areas.

Refugees and people seeking asylum spoke of the difficulty of finding information on their rights and entitlements. Language and communication barriers, as well as the tendency for information to be available online (which some could not access due to a combination of a lack of internet access and poor IT skills), made it harder to access such information. A key limitation on progress towards this outcome was not being able to work or access education (either due to people seeking asylum not having the right to work or access some courses, or as a result of refugees’ English-language skills, caring responsibilities or ill health which acted as barriers to work along with a lack of recognition of their prior learning). On the whole, refugees who arrived in Scotland as part of resettlement progammes were able to access comprehensive support in relation to understanding their rights. People seeking asylum, however, reported feeling that they lacked awareness and knowledge of the asylum process and experienced anxiety and stress awaiting the outcome of their applications to the Home Office. A lack of funding for statutory and third sector services and organisations to support refugees and people seeking asylum to understand and access their rights and entitlements also acted as a significant barrier to achieving this outcome. On the other hand, the provision and availability of dedicated and well-informed support staff, whether based in local authorities or the third sector, clearly facilitated the process of refugees’ awareness of, and access to, support in relation to understanding their rights and entitlements.

Outcome 3

The extent to which stakeholder organisations and refugees and people seeking asylum themselves thought they were able to access well-coordinated services, which recognise and meet their rights and needs varied. The majority of survey respondents were in agreement that the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy encouraged broader involvement of people and organisations across Scotland, supported refugee integration through improved collaboration between organisations and supported better coordinated services that met the needs of refugees and people seeking asylum more effectively. Stakeholder organisations highlighted the important role of AMIF-funded projects in supporting access to services. This funding enabled organisations to expand their work to serve new areas, new populations of refugees and people seeking asylum, and to address gaps in provision. It also enabled additional staff capacity to build new partnerships and work collaboratively to provide support to refugees and people seeking asylum. The New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy was said to have helped to create an environment that encouraged partnership working and fostered new relationships and connections between organisations working on refugee integration. It was also argued that the Strategy increased awareness of the issues facing refugees and people seeking asylum, leading to more consistent and improved joined up working between statutory services, the third sector and others at a local level.

However, access to services was hindered by a number of factors including gaps in ESOL provision and access, particuarly in colleges, which impacted on the ability of refugees to find work and start to feel part of their communities. Additionally, provision of services and support differed across different local authority areas, and the experiences of accessing statutory services (including GPs, schools, health visitors, dentists etc) amongst refugees and people seeking asylum varied in terms of the degree of support received from their local authority. Where this was observed to be working well, the range of support offered and its comprehensiveness in terms of linking up support from the council, with that of volunteer groups and refugee organisations was a key factor. The cost and availabilty of transport and the locations in which refugees and people seeking asylum were placed had important implications for their ability to access services and amenities. In both urban and rural areas, refugees and people seeking asylum were often housed in areas which required transport to access local shops, mosques, support organisations and schools. The cost of this was transport was considerable.

Housing was also considered to be a key barrier to progressing this outcome as refugees and people seeking asylum did not always have access to accommodation that met their needs, particularly those housed in hotels, but also those housed in the community. Similar themes were identified in a recent report by the University of Glasgow^[35]. Stakeholders called for greater steps to be taken to address the housing crisis in Scotland to enable refugees and people seeking asylum to be placed within communities. These included using the next iteration of the Strategy to challenge the use of hotel accommodation.

Outcome 4

Of the four New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy outcomes, Outcome 4: ‘Policy, strategic planning and legislation, which have an impact on refugees and asylum seekers, are informed by their rights, needs and aspirations’, was considered to have been least well achieved across both the survey and interview findings. Fewer than half (44%) of survey respondents said this had been successfully addressed, although 61% ‘strongly agreed’ or ‘agreed’ or that ‘the Strategy has taken into account the lived experiences of refugees’. Stakeholder interviewees and survey respondents emphasised the importance of having a Strategy which promotes a positive message of integration, with Scotland being a welcoming place for refugees and people seeking asylum. They referenced the Strategy’s ambition that refugees and people seeking asylum should feel welcome from day one in the country, and although it was felt that this had not yet been achieved, the Strategy was viewed as a potential means to support this aim in the future.

A key perceived limitation to achieving this outcome was the fact that asylum is a reserved policy issue, with the UK government determining key policies affecting the rights and services available to refugees and people seeking asylum in all parts of the UK, including Scotland. However, while it was recognised that this made integration work more difficult in Scotland, it was also felt there was more within the powers of devolved policy which the Scottish Government could do to promote integration and better support the rights and needs of refugees and people seeking asylum. For example, by improving access to clear and comprehensive information about rights and entitlements (including translating materials and better access to interpreters) and increasing ESOL provision. Funding was thought to be critical to this, and hence the short-term, one-off nature of dedicated funding programmes such as the AMIF funding was also highlighted as being problematic. Without longer-term funding from the Scottish Government or elsewhere?, it was said that it would be challenging to change people’s attitudes and promote community cohesion. Finally, siloed ways of working within the Scottish Government were perceived to have limited progress in relation to this outcome as policy had been developed in areas that affect refugees and people seeking asylum (e.g. education, housing) without directly addressing their needs. Stakeholders would like to see greater cross-policy working within the Scottish Government with the needs of refugees and people seeking asylum considered in all relevant policy areas.

Variation across localities and groups

We found some evidence to suggest that the experiences of refugees and people seeking asylum varied depending on the area they were located. This appeared to be influenced by the level of support (local authority, third sector and community support) available in a particular area and the accessibility of this support. Experiences were also influenced by whether individuals had arrived in Scotland as part of a refugee resettlement programme or as a person seeking asylum. Those who entered via refugee resettlement programmes had access to dedicated support through their local authority and tended to have more positive experiences of integration within their local community than people seeking asylum, who expressed high levels of anxiety and isolation in trying to navigate the asylum process, echoing the findings of Baroness Kennedy’s recent Asylum Inquiry. As all but one of the refugees interviewed for this research who entered via a resettlement programme were from the same programme, it is difficult to make comparisons between the experiences of those in different resettlement programmes. Further research would be required to explore the experiences of those in different resettlement programmes.

Contribution of the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy to the outcomes

The fact that Scotland has a refugee integration Strategy was warmly welcomed by those who were aware of it. It was said to have led to greater collaboration and coordination between local authorities, the third sector and partners. However, measuring the direct impact of the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy was often difficult. While progress towards the outcomes was acknowledged, some stakeholders were ambivalent as to whether such outcomes would have come about irrespective of the Strategy given how closely it aligned with organisations’ values and the existing partnership working between organisations. Stakeholders also found it difficult to link an overarching Strategy with every activity or initiative happening at a local or project level. Nevertheless, the majority of stakeholders said that having a refugee integration Strategy supported by the Scottish Government and New Scots partners set a vision for Scotland to work towards collectively.

Recommendations to develop the next New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy

The findings outlined by this research show that while progress has been made between 2018 and 2022, further work is needed to ensure that the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy’s outcomes are achieved. It is important to acknowledge that the current Strategy’s outcomes are primarily longer-term in nature. Therefore, it may be prudent to develop clear and measureable shorter- and medium-term outcomes to monitor progress of the new Strategy.

Broadly there was support for the Strategy to continue and a call for further funding to support implementation. There were several aspects which were considered critical to the Strategy’s development and successful implementation, which are worth considering as its next iteration is developed. Research participants’ recommendations included:

• Additional funding and resourcing for both statutory and third sector staffing and services to be an intrinsic part of the development and implementation of the Strategy to ensure there is sufficient capacity for implementation.
• Continued and longer-term funding for local authorities and other existing statutory services, third sector organisations and community projects working to support refugee integration. Further consultation with organisations and groups is required to identify and gaps in provision in each local authority area.
• Improve access to accessible information about the rights and entitlements of refugees and people seeking asylum. This includes providing information in a range of languages and access to interpreters. Improving the quality and provision of high-quality ESOL training is also required.
• Ensuring that key aspects of the Strategy, such as the rights and entitlements of refugees and people seeking asylum, are enshrined in Scots Law in order to protect and promote these rights in the future.
• Greater awareness of, and wider engagement with, the Strategy and issues faced by refugees and people seeking asylum across the Scottish Government, third sector organisations, community groups and among the general public across all areas of Scotland. It was suggested by stakeholders that this could be accomplished through outreach engagement events that allowed for more accessibility (e.g. transport, childcare) for refugees and people seeking asylum. To be more inclusive of refugees and people seeking asylum, the next iteration of the Strategy could also develop more accessible documents with simplified language and translated versions.
• Greater awareness raising and training targeted at a wider range of groups including the general public, local communities, and services across the public, private and third sectors to tackle stigma, racial discrimination and the lack of cultural understanding of different refugees and people seeking asylum.
• Whilst acknowledging the significant constraints of reserved aspects of refugee and asylum policy, greater consideration could be given to the devolved powers Scottish Government can leverage to better support refugees and people seeking asylum. For example, in terms of funding training and provision of ESOL to ensure refugees and people seeking asylum have access to high quality language support throughout Scotland. Investing in interpreters, translated materials and statutory and third sector staffing to improve accessibility of information on rights and entitlements of refugees and people seeking asylum is also to be encouraged.
• Address the practical challenges within different local authorities of implementing the Strategy and supporting integration. This requires consultation with local authorities as well as third sector organisations, community projects, and communities themselves to discuss any challenges in providing well co-ordinated support.
• A focus on measurable outcomes, with a monitoring and evaluation structure implemented from the outset, as the next Strategy is developed. This will help collect longer-term data on progress towards achieving the Strategy outcomes.

In terms of its priorities, participants highlighted the need for a Scotland-wide focus, with a greater focus on people seeking asylum and children, young people and families. It was also suggested that the next Strategy should focus on addressing basic needs such as access to financial support, adequate housing, free public transport and mental health support. Other priorities included increasing access to language support (particularly college-based ESOL provision), employment, education and skills development. It was reported that the contribution of the AMIF-funded projects and other organisations and community groups should be recognised and valued.

Future research

The evaluation aimed to achieve the best possible balance of input for the budget available. However, we acknowledge that this evaluation could only reach a limited number of refugees and people seeking asylum directly, given the cost and time involved in undertaking in-depth work with participants. It was also outwith the scope of this evaluation to map and assess integration work happening across local authorities in Scotland. There is a need for further ongoing direct research and engagement with refugees and people seeking asylum, reflecting the diversity of the refugee population in Scotland, and seeking to understand refugee experiences at different stages of their integration journey in Scotland. Similarly, as integration is a two-way process, future research should also consider seeking the views of other people living in host communities. It is important to note that this evaluation is just one contribution to a wider programme of funded research under the NSRIDP funding, including a comprehensive literature review and other direct work with refugees. These issues should be considered in the monitoring of the third iteration of the strategy.