Levels of Government

Policy on immigration and integration is made at various levels of government. It is useful to have an understanding of these different levels and other policy actors when trying to influence policy outcomes, particularly as conflict between different agendas can offer spaces for making stronger claims in support of migrant interests. The different levels of government discussed here are:

• Central government
• Regional government
• Local government
• Public service providers
• Civil society

Central Government

Central Government Departments

There are several central government departments that are responsible for different aspects of government policy. Policy issues related to migration and migrants are often centred on the Home Office and its affiliated agencies. However, other government department’s work can also relate to migrant concerns. For example, the Department for Health is responsible for implementing and developing policies around migrants’ access to healthcare and ensuring that the, sometimes specific, needs of migrants and refugees are appropriately addressed in healthcare provision. Similarly, the Department for Work and Pensions has commissioned research on the employment opportunities and barriers faced by refugees. Different government departments tend to see migrant issues from within the policy perspectives they are developing. This can result in a broader and more accommodating policy framework than the more exclusively immigration control focus of the home office.

Executive Agencies

In addition to government departments there are numerous executive agencies that form part of central government. These agencies are usually specialised in a particular field and responsible for administering day-to-day operations. An example is the the Legal Services Commission which is responsible for the administering of legal aid in England and Wales and is funded by the Department for Constitutional Affairs. Another key agency is the newly constituted Borders and Immigration Agency that takes over the operations of the Home Office’s Immigration and Nationality Directorate. Executive agencies are not involved in making policy which is the task of government departments. Agencies are supposed to be responsible only for administrative matters and not policymaking. They are directly responsible to ministers who hold overall accountability. However, the line between administration and policymaking can be difficult to define and often they inform each others work in practice.

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Regional Government

Devolution of power to regional assemblies was part of Labour’s 1997 election manifesto. The Scottish Parliament and the Welsh and Northern Ireland Assemblies followed as a result. The creation of a London Assembly is another part of the devolutionary process. In each case central government has transferred powers and functions of government onto regional bodies. Plans for further regional assemblies in England were shelved following the loss of a referendum on the proposed assembly for the North East. While overall immigration and asylum are UK-wide issues and remain within the power of Westminster, many areas of policy for which devolved assemblies are responsible are important for migrants too. Therefore the Scottish Parliament has launched its ‘Fresh Talent’ initiative which aims to attract more immigrants to Scotland to help counter demographic decline. This differing policy remit has also meant that Scotland has negotiated a higher immigrant quota under the new points-based system. Similarly, the Mayor of London has conducted work on the availability of legal aid for asylum seekers in London - referencing his mandate to counter social exclusion. Both of these regional policy initiatives can be seen as conflicting with aspects of the immigration control agenda with their emphasis on welcoming immigrants and seeking to reduce social exclusion.

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Local Government

The powers of local government are laid out by statute. Some of the work local government bodies undertake is mandatory and some discretionary. The Department for Communities and Local Government is the main link between local government and Westminster in England. However, other central government departments can also be relevant to specific local government functions such as healthcare, education, employment. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland local authorities deal with the devolved governments on most issues. The Local Government Association is a body that provides a national voice for local authorities.

There is currently much debate on the need for a ‘new localism’ in British government. Driven by a recognition of the diversity of needs and the complexity of service provision and a desire to re-invigorate political participation by bringing political decision-making closer to people and localities, ‘new localism’ encompasses a variety of claims for the need to redress the balance between central and local government. It is argued that the highly centralised nature of the British state relegates local government into a role of service provider with insufficient power to properly adapt and consult on policies locally. In relation to migration issues, recognition of the diversity of migrant communities and the need for services to be better targeted towards needs on the ground provides difficulties for central government in implementing policy across diverse areas. Consequently there is a move on the part of government to try to re-think the relationship in ways that allow for better dialogue across different levels of government. Policies on integration and community cohesion are particularly concerned to engage with communities and policymakers are looking for ways to improve the links between people and government. Developments on local government may yield more areas where migrant concerns are better taken up.

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Public Services

Public service providers such as housing associations, primary care trusts and schools are charged with delivering government policy on services. Public Service Reform under the Blair government has seen an increase in the numbers of targets and reviews that try to ensure improvements in service delivery. Although public services are focussed on delivering policy rather than making it, they do interact with and inform the policymaking process. As stakeholders they are often consulted and their expertise on problems in implementing policy needs to be better integrated into the policymaking process.

The interests of service providers can also run counter to the control aspects of immigration policy. Across many service providers Home Office policy initiatives that seek to control migrant access to services runs counter to the ethos and the practicalities of service provision. For instance, Home Office proposals to exclude certain categories of migrants form free healthcare comes into conflict with both the ethos of the health service and healthcare practitioners which focuses on providing treatment to the sick. It creates difficulties for hospital administrations that are not set up to run checks of immigration status. In education the Committee of Vice Chancellor’s provided a powerful lobby against curtailment of student’s rights to work. They presented this as threatening British universities international competitiveness. The tensions in the differing agendas of public service providers and immigration control policies can open up spaces in which successful interventions can be made and that have the capacity to recruit wider support bases for migrant interests.

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Civil Society

Civil society is composed of the vast range of human associations, collective engagements and relational networks that happen outside the state’s sphere of direct control. It encompasses a wide range of voluntary organisations including charities, cooperatives, social enterprises, faith groups and community and voluntary organisations. This variety can also lead to fragmentation and conflict in this sector, as well as power imbalances between well resourced groups and under resourced groups and individuals.

Civil society and civil society organisations play a role in policymaking through networks, policy and advocacy work and campaigns. Current government policy on the third sector recognises its increasing importance for society and the economy. Policymakers see civil society organisations as an important bridge builder that can help to deliver on government concerns such as social cohesion, civil renewal and well as play a part in service delivery. An Office for the Third Sector was set up in the Cabinet Office in May 2006. It aims to foster government support for the sector by acting as an advocate for it across government and bringing together third sector work across government. A review of the third sector is currently underway.

Many civil society organisations are active on issues related to migrant interests and migration policy. Some are refugee and migrant community organisations, others are organisations set up to work on the behalf of migrants and refugees, others are civil society organisations active on issues that affect migrants and who have taken up positions supportive of migrant interests. Forming alliances across civil society is important for building a wide platform of support for migrants. In policy areas such as health we have seen the building of broader coalitions with national foundations such as the Terence Higgins Trust (amongst others) putting themselves behind entitlements to free health care for failed asylum seekers and undocumented migrants. An important benefit of support across wide sections civil society is that it helps to demonstrate that migrants interests are often also in the interests of society at large.

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