Statistics
This section provides available statistical information relating to asylum seekers and refugees, followed by data relating to the minority ethnic population of Bristol and other contextual information about the city.
Asylum Seekers
Regional statistical data does exist for asylum seekers who are supported by the Home Office via UKBA. Often people use this data and the percentage of asylum seekers receiving a positive decision as an indicator for the potential population. However, this can be misleading, as when people receive status they may move to another area (such as a larger multicultural city where they have contacts) and recognition rates differ hugely depending on nationalities. Furthermore, these figures do not include the people who were not receiving support from the government at the time of their decision. As at the end of December 2008, asylum seekers in receipt of NASS support (subsistence only and accommodation or its equivalent) in Bristol amounted to 235, of a total of 795 for the South West of England. The total figure for the United Kingdom is 31,340.
According to Home Office figures, the largest groups of asylum seekers supported in the Southwest by the UKBA are Iranians, Somalis and Iraqis. Precise estimates for Bristol alone are unobtainable.
Refugees
Again, it is difficult to calculate the number of refugees in any given city. Once someone who is supported by UKBA becomes a refugee and is able to access mainstream services, UKBA may inform local agencies to alert them to the fact that there may be someone in need of their services locally, but this does not happen systematically and agencies may not keep this data. Statutory bodies that are required to serve refugees as part of the local population are often good sources of data, as they are required to collect data and conduct research to underpin service delivery. For example, the local education service should have statistics on refugee and asylum seeking children in their area. Social services should have data on unaccompanied minors who have received positive decisions. Similarly, the local health service may have aggregate data on its refugee population. Local refugee agencies and groups could also be a good source for anecdotal estimate or aggregate data from client databases.
Census data does not include a question on immigration status, so this data would not offer much information about refugees in the area. However, it does provide disaggregated data on country of birth; therefore, it is possible to make broad speculations by looking at the data relating to countries with high numbers of asylum applicants. For example, looking at the data on people born in Somalia in Bristol can provide some information on the size of the community, a significant number of whom may be refugees.
Minority Ethnic Population
Provisional statistics estimate that 11.2% of Bristol’s population is of black and minority ethnic origin (BME). This figure is almost identical to the national BME which stands at 11.3% (Bristol City Council 2006). In addition, the 2001 Census showed that the BME groups have a young age profile, which reflects the recent arrival of young people and families seeking asylum. For example, under 16s make up 56% of minority ethnic groups in Bristol North (ONS 2001).
Bristol has a large Asian population, coming originally from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, China and more recently Sri Lanka.
Employment
Asylum Seekers
Asylum seekers are not allowed to take up paid employment in the UK. This is a contentious issue which has seen Right to Work campaigns established in Bristol. A single adult asylum seeker is entitled to a provision of £36.54 per week, which comes in the form of supermarket vouchers, with the option of redeeming £10 for cash. This system has received widespread criticism on the grounds that it contravenes human rights legislation. Bristol Refugee Rights and Bristol Defend the Asylum Seekers Campaign have launched a voucher exchange scheme, which allows asylum seekers to swap their vouchers for cash with members of the public. This is supported by various organisations, such as Bristol No Borders and Refugee Action.
Refugees
Refugees and those with subsidiary forms of protection such as Humanitarian Protection (HP) are allowed to work, but must first obtain a National Insurance number. Unlike asylum seekers, refugees have equal access to welfare and the benefits system.
Education
Bristol City Council estimates that 10.2% of all school pupils in Bristol speak English as a second language and that this figure is constantly growing. In some schools this figure is significantly higher, for example at the City Academy 26.5% of pupils do not have English as their first language. With this in mind, many schools offer other languages at all levels up to GCSE, including Urdu, Bengali, Punjabi and Somali (Cousins 2006).
Housing
As noted earlier, the latest figures show that 210 asylum seekers live in accommodation provided by the UKBA (Home Office 2008).
Crime
The housing services at Bristol City Council received reports from 192 households in 2004/5 of 885 incidents of racial harassment and as a direct consequence had to re-house 34 families. In response the Council has piloted a safe house providing temporary re-housing for families facing racial harassment.
In 2007 there were 72 reported cases of ‘hate crimes’ in Bristol, an increase of 187% from the year before (the real figure will be significantly higher when reported crimes are taken into consideration). This figure has reportedly decreased in 2008 and the first half of 2009 (http://www.sariweb.org.uk/).
Religious Diversity
Bristol is home to a number of different faith communities. The most up-to-date statistics are as follows:
| Religion | Bristol (%) | England and Wales (%) |
| Christian | 62.1 | 71.8 |
| No religion | 24.5 | 14.8 |
| Muslim | 2.0 | 3.0 |
| Hindu | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Sikh | 0.5 | 0.6 |
| Buddhist | 0.4 | 0.3 |
| Jewish | 0.2 | 0.5 |
(2001 Census) These statistics are likely to have changed since the last Census in 2001, especially with regards to the increase of Somalis the majority of who are Muslim. They should therefore be used as a rough estimation.
Bristol is also home to a Greek Orthodox Church, a Polish Roman Catholic Church and a Bah'al Centre.
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Last Updated: 06/10/09
