Press Story

While the UK experience of integration is relatively positive, a new report from the think tank IPPR suggests that some groups and communities are still being left behind, with damaging consequences for them and the communities where they live. The report is published ahead of a major speech on immigration by Deputy Prime Minister and Lib Dem Leader Nick Clegg.

The report argues that migrants have a range of responsibilities to integrate, including to learn English, and argues that prioritising English language teaching will help tackle educational and labour market disadvantage, and will save money in the long term. A stronger consensus within the European Union about our obligations to learn the language of our host countries, even for short-term migrants, is also needed.

The report, which forms part of IPPR's 'Everyday Integration' research programme, argues that a new approach to integration policy is needed, focused on overcoming practical barriers to integration (including poverty and unemployment) and providing everyday opportunities for interaction between groups (including in schools and workplaces).

The report suggests that past government interventions have focused too heavily on symbolic issues of national identity - while are important, they are far removed from real life processes of integration. Current government policy is dominated by ministers' desire to meet their net migration target, which could harm integration by promoting temporary migration at the expense of integration and citizenship.

The report, which contains new data on educational achievement, shows that while many children with migrant backgrounds are doing very well in school, some groups are significantly "left behind". White British students perform slightly below the national average, with children of Nigerian, Indian and Sri Lankan origin far outperforming their British counterparts. However, some groups, such as Portuguese and Yemeni students, are under-achieving.

Jill Rutter, IPPR Associate Fellow, said:

"With Nick Clegg giving a speech today, immigration continues to dominate the political agenda. But the question of integration, what happens when migrants actually arrive, has been neglected by policymakers.

"The Government has so far failed to set out the kind of integration policies that an increasingly-diverse UK needs, and has instead focused on its net migration target. The Government needs make the citizenship process more meaningful in order to promote integration, rather than restricting access to citizenship in order to hit its net migration target.

"Many children of migrants perform very well in school - London has the highest proportion of migrant children in its schools, yet secondary schools in London have performed better and improved at a faster rate over the last ten years than elsewhere in the country. But some groups are still being left behind.

"Poverty and inequality damage integration, so policy should aim to reduce inequality and social segregation, including by reducing educational underachievement."

Notes to editors:

IPPR's new report - Back to Basics: Towards a successful and cost-effective integration policy - will be published and available from http://bit.ly/IPPR10525

Contacts:

Richard Darlington, 07525 481 602, r.darlington@ippr.org">r.darlington@ippr.org

Tessa Evans, 07875 727 298, t.evans@ippr.org">t.evans@ippr.org