New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy 2018 to 2022: evaluation

Executive summary

The New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy aims to support refugees and people seeking asylum in Scotland’s communities. There has been a New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy in place since 2014, developed by the Scottish Government, COSLA, Scottish Refugee Council (SRC) and a range of other partners across the public, third and academic sectors. The 2018-2022 New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy aimed to provide a framework for those working towards refugee integration to assist them to make the best use of resources and expertise that are available across Scotland. It sets out a vision for a welcoming Scotland where refugees and people seeking asylum are able to rebuild their lives and integrate into society from the day they arrive in Scotland.

The New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy 2018-2022 committed to working towards achieving four broad outcomes:

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.

To understand what the Strategy has achieved, and to aid the development of the third iteration of the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy (2023-2027), the Scottish Government, in partnership with COSLA and the Scottish Refugee Council, commissioned ScotCen and Matter of Focus to undertake an evaluation of the 2018-2022 Strategy. The overall aim of the evaluation was to gain a fuller understanding of what works in relation to refugee integration in Scotland. The objectives of the evaluation were to assess how the Strategy has been implemented, the progress made towards achieving its intended outcomes and what learning could be used to inform future policy and practice.

For the evaluation, ScotCen and Matter of Focus conducted a mixed method study consisting of:

• Two Theory of Change workshops with partners involved in developing and implementing the Strategy.
• Interviews with 30 stakeholders from local authorities, partner organisations, academics, and third sector organisations. This included members of various structures associated with the implementation of the Strategy, including six ‘themed’ groups which are responsible for identifying actions that would make progress to achieving the Strategy’s four outcomes.
• An online survey of stakeholder organisations (n=250).
• Interviews with 21 refugees and people seeking asylum.
• A series of self-evaluation workshops with 12 projects from across Scotland funded through the European Union’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF).

Findings

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

The evaluation sought to understand whether the intended reach of the Strategy had been achieved.

Stakeholders who engaged with the Strategy appreciated the message of welcoming refugees and people seeking asylum, the focus on partnership working and that the values of the Strategy aligned with those of their own organisations.

Reach of the Strategy was limited. There was low awareness of the Strategy beyond those working in relevant governmental/policy circles or in refugee and asylum support organisations. A common view was that extending the reach of the next iteration of the Strategy would help increase awareness of refugees and people seeking asylum and the issues they face, and promote better understanding among host communities as well as a wider set of service providers and government departments.

To increase awareness and engagement with the next iteration of the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy, stakeholders of all types 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 of the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy

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

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; and initiate new collaborations and partnership working.

The majority of stakeholders reported that the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy had a ‘very positive’ or ‘positive’ impact on the work of their organisation. Data from the interviews and survey with stakeholders highlighted key factors that helped the implementation of the Strategy or made it more challenging.

Factors that helped implementation of the Strategy:

• AMIF funding and the partnerships developed through New Scots themed groups helped build new connections and networking opportunities between local authorities, third sector organisations, community groups, and the Strategy’s partners. This facilitated better information sharing and enhanced the support offered to refugees and people seeking asylum through signposting to sources of support.
• The positive messaging of the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy motivated people to work collaboratively to implement the Strategy.
• Commitment and resilience of staff in the sector drove forward implementation of the Strategy in light of a lack of long-term funding attached to the Strategy’s implementation.
• The adaptability and relevance of the Strategy in the face of a frequently changing UK policy landscape and new resettlement programmes.

Factors that made implementation of the Strategy challenging:

• The COVID-19 pandemic reduced individuals’ and organisations’ capacity to achieve the Strategy’s outcomes 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 wider workings of the New Scots groups.
• Lack of funding, for staffing both within government and across the sector, and other resources associated with the Strategy meant implementation was often reliant on the goodwill and dedication of individuals and organisations driving work forward.
• Tensions between the UK Government’s policy agenda and ‘hostile environment’ which were perceived as being at odds with the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy’s approach.
• Siloed working within Scottish Government departments which led to wider policies not reflecting the needs of refugees and people seeking asylum.
• Lack of, and inconsistent access to, funding for the provision of English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) and other services.
• Low awareness of the Strategy among the public, refugees and people seeking asylum, as well as among organisations working with these groups and across some government departments.
• Impact of the Ukrainian resettlement programme on staff resources in organisations supporting refugees and the need to adapt to a new resettlement programme with its own rights and entitlements.

Progress made towards achieving intended outcomes

The evaluation sought to understand what progress has been made towards achieving the intended outcomes of the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy, and the extent to which progress is sustainable.

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

Research participants expressed varied views on the extent to which this outcome had been met. While the majority (65%) of survey respondents indicated that this outcome had been very or quite successfully achieved, fewer agreed that as a result of the Strategy ‘refugees and asylum seekers feel more welcome in Scotland‘ (51%), and that ‘Scotland’s communities are safer for refugees and asylum seekers’ (44%).

Similarly mixed views were expressed by interviewees. Some refugees and people seeking asylum had received a very warm welcome in Scotland and viewed it as their home. Others told us of much more challenging experiences, for example, racist abuse, feeling isolated and struggling to meet people or learn English.

Factors which contributed to refugees and people seeking asylum living in safe, welcoming and cohesive communities:

• Having opportunities to build strong connections and relationships with other refugees and people seeking asylum as well as those from host communities and staff from support organisations.
• Support from AMIF-funded projects and others working with refugees and people seeking asylum, helped people to feel welcome in their communities through local integration activities and engaging with a wide range of services.
• Intensive support being provided when first arriving in Scotland. In some local authorities support was provided to those on resettlement programmes by dedicated local authority support workers. Others received support from local authority workers and a wide range of third sector and community organisations.
• Opportunities for employment and volunteering were critical to supporting mental health, language development, sense of belonging and being able to build diverse relationships and connections.

Factors which acted as barriers to refugees and people seeking asylum living in safe, welcoming and cohesive communities:

• Experiences of racism and feelings of isolation and exclusion in local communities due to a lack of cultural understanding.
• Time spent in the asylum process led to people feeling less welcome in Scotland and feeling particularly isolated, unwelcome and unsafe.
• Other barriers that are more related to the other three outcomes and include: language barriers, difficulties accessing transport and appropriate housing, and restricted access to employment and educational opportunities.

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

Views on whether refugees and people seeking asylum understand their rights, responsibilities and entitlements and are able to exercise them to pursue full and independent lives were varied and point to the need for further work in this area.

Just over half of stakeholders responding to the survey (53%) said this outcome had been successfully achieved. A higher percentage (59%) either ‘strongly agreed’ or ‘agreed’ that ‘the Strategy had supported increased awareness among refugees and asylum seekers of their rights and entitlements’. Additionally, stakeholder interviewees, refugees and people seeking asylum, survey respondents and AMIF-funded projects highlighted factors that helped achieve this outcome and factors that made it more challenging.

Factors which contributed to refugees and people seeking asylum understanding and exercising their rights, responsibilities and entitlements:

• Receiving support from local authorities, third sector support organisations and community groups in a wide range of areas, including: the asylum process; housing; welfare; employment; and education.
• The provision of translated information and interpreters enabled refugees and asylum seekers to access legal aid, welfare/social security support, employment support, housing support and volunteering opportunities.

Factors which acted as barriers to refugees and people seeking asylum understanding and exercising their rights, responsibilities and entitlements:

• Lack of clear, appropriate and accessible information on rights and entitlements of refugees and particularly people seeking asylum.
• Language barriers, limited access to translated materials and interpreters, and digital exclusion made it harder for refugees and people seeking asylum to access information on their rights and entitlements.
• For those within the asylum process, a lack of information made it harder to navigate the application and its decision making process.
• Not being able to work limited progress towards this outcome. Reasons for this included:
• people seeking asylum not having the right to work.
• organisations not recognising prior learning among those refugees with professional qualifications or experience from their previous employment.
• limited English-language skills resulting in refugees reporting difficulties in finding employment and being rejected for positions they would otherwise have been qualified for.
• caring responsibilities or ill health made finding flexible work challenging.

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

The majority of survey respondents agreed that the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy encouraged broader involvement of people and organisations across Scotland (66%); supported refugee integration through improved collaboration between organisations (65%); and supported better coordinated services that met refugee and asylum seeker needs more effectively (57%).

Through interviews with stakeholders, refugees and people seeking asylum as well as workshops with AMIF-funded projects, enablers and barriers to accessing support services were discussed.

Factors which contributed to refugees and people seeking asylum to access well-coordinated services:

• AMIF-funded projects supported and enabled refugees and people seeking asylum to access statutory services, ESOL support, childcare, food and mental health support, as well as free transport and digital inclusion.
• The AMIF funding enabled organisations to expand their work to serve new areas and new populations of refugees and people seeking asylum, and to address gaps in service provision.
• The New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy helped create an environment that encouraged partnership working and fostered new relationships and connections. This was facilitated by the development of the theme groups connected to the Strategy.
• The New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy increased awareness of the issues facing refugees and people seeking asylum leading to more consistent and improved joined up working between different organisations involved in its implementation.

Barriers to refugees and people seeking asylum being able to access well-coordinated services:

• Gaps in ESOL provision, particularly college-based courses.
• Variations in the provision of services and support across different local authority areas impacted on the ability of refugees and people seeking asylum to access statutory services.
• Cost of transport and availability of reliable transport links made accessing services challenging.
• Lack of access to accommodation that met the needs of refugees and people seeking asylum, particularly those housed in hotels.

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

The fourth outcome of the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy was considered to have been the 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’.

Factors which contributed to policy, strategic planning and legislation being informed by the rights needs and aspirations of refugees and people seeking asylum:

• Stakeholders 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.
• Although it was felt that the Strategy’s aim for refugees and people seeking asylum to feel welcome from day one has not yet been achieved, the Strategy was viewed as an important means to support this aim in the future.

Factors which acted as barriers to policy, strategic planning and legislation being informed by the rights needs and aspirations of refugees and people seeking asylum:

• The fact that asylum and refugee policy is reserved to the UK Government was said to make integration work more difficult in Scotland. Despite this, it was felt there was more that could be done within the remit of devolved policy to promote integration and better support the needs of refugees and people seeking asylum. For example, with devolved powers the Scottish Government can improve the quality and availability of ESOL provision across Scotland, extend free bus passes to refugees and people seeking asylum, and take action to tackle racism and isolation.
• Lack of funding to develop and implement the Strategy, as well as longer-term funding for those organisations and projects working directly with refugees and people seeking asylum, was a clear barrier. It was viewed as a challenge to change people’s attitudes and promote community cohesion without longer-term funding.

Variation across groups

Refugees’ and asylum seekers’ experiences were influenced by the level and accessibility of support (local authority, third sector and community support) available in their area. There was evidence of variations in support in different local authority areas, but further research is required to fully assess the extent, and reasons for, these variations.

There was also evidence that those who entered Scotland via refugee resettlement programmes 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. Those entering Scotland via refugee resettlement programmes are entitled to more dedicated support, have more rights on arrival in the UK, and do not have to undergo the uncertainties of the asylum process – all of which may support more positive experiences. Further research would be required to fully understand the reasons for these different experiences.

The contribution of the Strategy to achieving integration outcomes

The fact that Scotland has a refugee integration Strategy was warmly welcomed by those who were aware of it. It was felt to have led to greater collaboration and coordination between local authorities, the third sector and partners. However, measuring the direct impact of the Strategy was often difficult. While progress towards the outcomes was acknowledged, some stakeholders were ambivalent as to whether these outcomes would have happened without the Strategy. This was due to the close alignment of their organisations’ values with those of the Strategy and existing partnership working between organisations. Research participants also found it difficult to link an overarching Strategy with every activity or initiative happening at a local or project level. Nevertheless, stakeholders said that having a refugee integration Strategy supported by the Scottish Government set a vision for Scotland to work towards collectively.

Recommendations for the development of the next New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy

The findings from this research show that further work is still needed to ensure that the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy’s outcomes are achieved. Various issues worth considering in the development of the next iteration were raised by stakeholder interviewees and survey respondents.

• Additional funding and resourcing to be an intrinsic part of the implementation of the Strategy;
• Continued and longer-term funding of organisations and projects working to support refugee integration to enable equitable access and service provision in different geographical areas, and for those entering Scotland through different settlement pathways;
• If necessary, underpinning the Strategy with legislation to ensure that the rights and entitlements of refugees and people seeking asylum are fully supported in Scotland;
• The need to support greater awareness of, and wider engagement with, the Strategy across the Scottish Government, refugees and people seeking asylum, third sector organisations, community groups and among the general public across all areas of Scotland;
• Consideration of how the Scottish Government can better use its devolved powers to support refugees and people seeking asylum to begin to rebuild their lives from the day they arrive;
• A focus on measurable outcomes, with a monitoring and evaluation structure implemented from the outset, as the third Strategy is developed and rolled out;
• As integration is very much a two-way process, work must also be conducted with host communities in order that refugees and people seeking asylum feel as welcomed and accepted as possible.