Despite the Home Office’s recognition that integrating refugees in the long-term is as important as addressing immediate needs, there is an absence of a national integration strategy.
This is according to the May 2018 report on the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (pdf) by the Independent Chief Inspector for Borders and Immigration.
The report assesses the performance of UK Government’s Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme, which commits to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees by 2020.
It argues that although the Scheme is set to achieve this target, it could be improved in some areas. The Independent Chief Inspector outlines 7 recommendations to the Home Secretary, including:
- Reviewing the Scheme’s staffing
- Improving data management to support effective and efficient resettlement processes
- Producing guidance documents with ‘best practice’ for resettlement processes
- Maintaining closer contact with participating local authorities.