Councils across England are set to receive a further £28 million
to help ease pressures on local services resulting from
recent migration. This brings total funding from the Government’s
Controlling Migration Fund to over £100 million.
From tackling rogue landlords, helping alleviate rough sleeping
or boosting community integration through English Language
lessons, the Fund has helped deliver rapid results for
communities.
The latest funding, announced by Communities Minister , will be allocated to 123
projects across England.
Communities Minister said:
“Whether its tackling rogue landlords who exploit vulnerable
migrants, helping new arrivals learn English or supporting care
leavers to access education, the Controlling Migration Fund is
delivering results across the country and providing services for
the benefit of all.
“Each community is unique in the challenges it faces, but the
projects we’ve funded have shown that positive change is possible
when people come together and think innovatively about how to
support the whole community.”
Case Studies
Stockport
Stockport Council used funding to develop a bilingual teaching
assistant programme to support children in early years who start
school or nursery with little or no English. These assistants
provide these young children with the support they need to have a
successful start. The initiative has delivered impressive
results; and in 2017/18 after providing bilingual support to 201
children with English as an additional language, only 26 (13%)
required support the following year while only three of the 65
nursery children benefiting from the intervention needed ongoing
support.
Manchester Strangeways
Manchester City Council, a recipient of today’s additional
funding, has already shown great results from its joint work with
other agencies, including immigration enforcement,
to disrupt and dismantle counterfeit trade in the
Strangeways area. The project has removed over 100 counterfeit
traders from the area using the council’s corporate landlord
powers as well as achieving significant seizures of
counterfeit goods, illicit tobacco and arrests for various
offences including immigration offences.
Fenland
Fenland Council is receiving ongoing funding to support the
continued operation of Wisbech Emergency Night Shelter which
helps people to find more settled housing, employment and
training and to access medical services more efficiently. The
Fund has already supported an additional four beds at the
shelter. This has reduced pressures on local services and
community tension in the area with 84% of the clients not
returning to the streets in 2016/17, rising to 86.4% in 2017/18.
Enfield
Enfield has secured funding to extend its ‘Operation Rogue
Landlord’ project. The project will focus on targeted
inspections and enforcement in areas where more vulnerable
residents in the community are most likely to be affected by poor
housing conditions, overcrowding and exploitation.
The project’s interventions have yielded positive outcomes so far
including 1,950 property inspections and 1,014 enforcement
notices.
Ends.
Notes to Editors
- The Controlling Migration Fund was first announced in
November 2016 and is designed to support local areas facing
pressures linked to recent immigration.
- The Fund delivers on many of the priorities set out in
the Integrated Communities
Strategy published on 14 March 2018.
