Current Situation
Asylum seekers
As of 2004, Southampton City council no longer has a contract with the Home Office to house asylum seekers dispersed by the United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA). Most asylum seekers living in the city are on ‘subsistence only' support and staying with friends or family.
The most recent data on asylum seekers before the termination of Southampton's contract with NASS is from the end of May 2004 (CLEAR project 2004). This shows that asylum seekers of 46 different nationalities were being accommodated by NASS. Of these, the largest groups were Iranians, Congolese, Somalis, Sudanese, Eritreans, and Ethiopians.
Refugees
There is also a significant population of individuals who have been granted refugee status living in Southampton. Some of these residents derive from the settlement of previous refugee populations, others from those who were dispersed to Southampton recently under NASS and subsequently gained refugee status, and others who have followed social networks and employment prospects and chosen to move to the city from elsewhere in the UK.
The Southampton City Council has acknowledged Iranians, Somalis, Kosovans, Afghans, Iraqi and Iranian Kurds as the most numerous ethnic groups that started settling in Southampton after 1999. Farsi, Dari, Arabic, Polish, Russian, Portuguese, and Somalian are among some of the many new languages amongst the resident population. (Southampton City Council, 2008, unpublished)
There are a number of RCOs and migrants organisations in Southampton working with a variety of communities including; Somalis, Filipinos and Afghan women. However, due to a lack of funding, many of these groups are set to close down.
Key organisations
Until the expiration of its NASS contract, Southampton was the host authority for the South of England Refugee and Asylum Seeker Consortium of local authorities in the area, which coordinates service provision and development in the area and provides support to other agencies. Portsmouth City Council is now the host authority for the consortium, which has been renamed the South East Strategic Migration Partnership.
The New Communities Team was formed in November 2002 by the Southampton City Council. The aim was to develop a process of mediation and conflict management in the short to medium term, while building dialogue and trust over the longer term with the new communities settling in Southampton. The team seeks to work in partnership with statutory and charitable agencies whose work involves employment, job creation and training and, wherever possible, seeks to involve refugee representatives in this process. It provides advice on legal, housing, health, employment matters as well as interpreting services. (Southampton City Council New Communities Team, 2008)
City Life Education & Action for Refugees (CLEAR) aims to increase the quality of life for asylum seekers and refugees in Southampton. The project operates on many levels and is one of the main organisations in the area. It offers one to one support and befriending and practical help; engages in advocacy and research; provides English teaching (in a group setting, and for vulnerable women, in their own home); and organises leisure activities.
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Last Updated: 06/10/09
