Lavinia Mitton

Black Africans in England: A Diversity of Integration Experiences

This chapter analyses quantitative survey data to demonstrate that Black Africans from different countries of birth have different experiences of integration into British society. First, it reviews the changing pattern of Black African migration to Britain. Thereafter, background data on the age and gender composition of the Black African population, and on typical family and household structures, are considered. In the main section, data are presented on three elements of integration: differing ethnic and national identities, use of the English language and employment.

Operationalising ‘sexual orientation’ in routine data collection and equality monitoring in the UK

New legal provisions and regulatory practices in the UK have afforded protection against discrimination for sexual orientation minorities and conferred rights similar to those of heterosexually partnered couples. In addition, sexual orientation has been recognised as one of the main equality strands in new equality legislation and equality governance. Government departments and statutory and other organisations now face the need to collect equal opportunities and other data on these groups to monitor compliance. However, there has been little track record in the UK of collecting data on this dimension, resulting in issues of definition, categorisation, sample size and potential measurement error having to be addressed from a negligible evidence base. Limited survey data indicate significant problems relating to item non‐response and misreporting, reflecting wider concerns about the sensitivity of the data and disclosure. Given that sexual orientation is on track to be mainstreamed in the context of workforce recruitment and service delivery, a strategy across government and other sectors is needed to pool expertise and establish a shared evidence base and stock of good practice.

Means-Tested Higher Education? The English University Bursary Mess.

The UK government wishes to increase participation in higher education to 50%, with a key target group being students from ‘non‐traditional’ backgrounds. At the same time, top‐up fees have been introduced. Following the fierce parliamentary debates which threatened to derail the passage of the Higher Education Bill 2004, an amendment was introduced requiring universities to spend some fee income on bursaries, monitored by the Office for Fair Access (OFFA). English universities now offer a bewildering array of bursaries and scholarships and benefits in kind worth some £350m a year. Eligibility may depend on family income, exam performance or subjects studied. Student finance is made even more complicated to navigate by the choices to be made between student loans, commercial loans and earning by working, and difficulties understanding when and how these will be paid back. The failure of eligible individuals to claim income‐related benefits they are entitled to has been a long‐standing concern within social security policy. This article uses theory from the literature on benefit take‐up to explore as a case study the probable effectiveness of the English student financial support system on increasing access to higher education. We conclude that despite OFFAs claims for it, the current system is unsatisfactory for attracting students from lower‐income backgrounds, and suggest the implications for action for policy makers and managers.

The Languages of Black Africans in England

The achievement of integration and a reduction in the social exclusion of ethnic minority communities in England are policy matters of major concern. This paper argues that policy-makers and service providers pursuing these aims need to understand the language support needs of minority ethnic groups at a fine level of detail: groupings such as ‘Black’ or even ‘Black African’ are of limited utility. Although much ethnicity research has tended to view Black Africans as a homogenous group, appreciation of their diverse language use is important because people from different parts of sub-Saharan Africa face different language barriers on arrival in the UK. This paper examines evidence available from large-scale survey data on the association between language and indicators often used to assess integration and social exclusion. The paper provides empirical statistical evidence on Black Africans living in England and languages in the form of tables and maps using data-sets not previously analysed for this purpose. These are (1) the Labour Force Survey (LFS); and (2) the National Pupil Database (NPD). The results show that Black Africans speak a very wide range of languages at home. Somalis are by far the least integrated and most socially excluded of the major language groups, followed by Ghanaians. Zimbabweans and Nigerians, on the other hand, face only slight language barriers. The paper concludes with some implications of the findings for policy-makers and service providers.

The Information, Advice and Guidance Needs of Older Workers

This article reviews the research on Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) services for older workers in England. It sets out the arguments for targeting IAG services at older people in the context of extended working lives. It reviews the evidence on how to provide services which meet the specific needs of older workers, whilst recognising the diversity of the 50+ age group, and provides a case study of an age-sensitive IAG project. It concludes that demand for IAG from older workers needs to be stimulated and that the role of IAG in helping older adults to work and learn deserves greater recognition.

The Financial Crisis as Game Changer for the UK Welfare State

This chapter analyses the UK coalition government’s two over-arching social policy strategies: deep spending cuts and organisational restructuring. It argues that these represent a new and distinctive ideologically-driven way forward for the UK. The Conservatives in coalition government have been remarkably successful in persuading the public that increases in government spending caused a crisis in public finances that preceded the financial crisis. By a strategy of what Pierson (Dismantling the welfare state? Reagan, Thatcher, and the politics of retrenchment. Cambridge University Press, 1994) has termed ‘blame avoidance’ for welfare state cutbacks, it has been to be able to push through its austerity agenda. In this vision pressures on the welfare state are to be contained through a shift of responsibility in many areas away from government to a web of semi-independent private providers, citizens or the community. Market principles will permeate social welfare to a greater extent. It is argued in this chapter that the coalition government’s cut-backs and restructuring go beyond piecemeal responses to deficit reduction and amount to a coherent programme that is part of a larger strategy to set the UK political economy on an entirely new path. Its approach contributes to the Conservatives’ long-term ideological goal to shrink the state, free up the market and set the UK political economy on a trajectory of permanently lower spending, lower debt and market-led growth. In contending that the financial crisis and austerity have been ‘game-changers’ as far as social policy is concerned, this chapter discusses the following policy fields: labour market, pensions, health, long-term adult social care, family and children, and housing.

Birmingham: The Youth Employment and Enterprise Rehearsal Project

Youth Employment and Enterprise Rehearsal (YEER) was set up by The Future Melting Pot, a community interest company, to provide business support to black and minority ethnic young people who were not in employment, education or training. The main aim was to enable participants to set up their own enterprises. The project included training, support and access to accredited advisors. The approach was innovative in that it offered young people an alternative to the conventional focus on getting a job by providing the opportunity to explore the option of self-employment in an environment which was needs led. The approach could be described as intensive, personalised support to stimulate entrepreneurialism and an example of integrating economic and social domains.

Birmingham: A “Locality Approach” to Combating Worklessness

The locality approach to worklessness in Birmingham is an approach to tackling worklessness developed by the city. It was locality driven and focused on areas where worklessness was high. Detailed consultation took place to agree neighbourhood employment and skills plans and services commissioned on that basis. It also had a strong client focus adopting an integrated employment and skills model. The aim of the model was to offer a continuous service, incorporating the provision of targeted action and support that each individual required no matter which provider they accessed. It enabled an in-depth understanding of issues for local residents where worklessness was high, which provided the opportunity for provider organisations to work together for the first time and to develop small-scale innovative projects. Key was the agreement of the major players in the local welfare system and their signing up to the model.

Birmingham, Priority to Economics, Social Innovation at the Margins

The governance system in Birmingham over the decades has been rooted in a pro-growth strategy. This has resulted in an environment not typically conducive to large-scale social innovation. The impact of history is of significance, with the impact of recession and deindustrialisation that started in the 1980s, and that still continues today, influencing the policy and practice of actors in the city. The major, lasting innovation in the city is partnership working seen as essential to deliver the economic regeneration agenda. Until recently this was a ‘closed’ form of partnership comprising existing local political and economic power holders, but this has evolved to more inclusive engagement. The city council has focused over the years on the promotion of local economic development and employment growth, and to a lesser extent on the provision of services. However, the council has always seen economic development as also serving the objective of improving the quality of life of its citizens and therefore policies do not always show an obvious divide between social and economic policy. Using analysis of local labour market and housing and regeneration policy, the situation in Birmingham can be described as a case of urban governance where solutions to social problems are stated in terms of economic priorities. Innovation does occur but is marginal, through opportunistic and short-term support for small-scale projects, largely through national funding streams. Looking to the future, enhanced devolved decision-making was seen by local actors as a potential vehicle for innovation at the (very) local level.

Are English local authorities' practices on housing and council tax benefit administration meeting race equality requirements?

This paper investigates the extent to which the national and local state are meeting the requirements of race relations legislation in the area of means-tested housing and council tax benefits. Compliance with the prioritized duties is assessed in the context of both the wider issues driving the race equality agenda and more detailed arguments about managerial regimes and the central role of data. Two specific examples are pursued: the capacity to monitor take-up of benefits through an examination of ethnic monitoring on claims forms at different tiers of local government and an evaluation of progress through an analysis of the Benefit Fraud Inspectorates reports. The evidence indicates that compliance with the Act is patchy and piecemeal and that in many local authorities, even the basic building block for assessing impacts, ethnic monitoring of claimants, is not available. Alternative sources are evaluated, including pooled data from government social surveys and eligibility for free school meals, collected in the annual pupil census. Given the evidence for continuing differentials in the incomes of people from minority ethnic groups, prompt action is needed to ensure that race equality is mainstreamed in benefit administration.