Tag: new Scots

Helping new Scots settle into communities

Action set out to support integration

A package of measures to help ensure refugees and people seeking asylum are supported to make their new communities their home has been unveiled.

The New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy: Delivery Plan 2024-2026 – developed by the Scottish Government, Scottish Refugee Council and COSLA – includes commitments to work with employers to help them recruit refugees, to identify ways to improve English language provision and to ensure services are co-ordinated effectively.

The plan also aims to ensure people understand their rights, responsibilities and entitlements, and to help New Scots and communities to integrate.

Equalities Minister Kaukab Stewart said: “Scotland has a proud history of welcoming those fleeing war and persecution, and we are dedicated to helping them integrate into communities from the day they arrive.

“It is vital that we support refugees and people seeking asylum to understand their rights and access employment and services to help them to rebuild their lives in Scotland.

“This plan, which was informed by engagement with those with experience of seeking refuge and settling in Scotland, as well as those with expertise in supporting them, lays out the steps we will take to support refugees and people seeking asylum to integrate across different parts of society.

“It also recognises the role communities and employers can actively play in supporting people.”

Chief Executive of Scottish Refugee Council Sabir Zazai said: “Global conflicts and humanitarian crises are forcing record numbers of people to flee their homes in search of safety.

“The commitments set out in this plan will help those seeking protection in Scotland to rebuild their lives here in a meaningful and sustainable way. We welcome the plan and thank everyone whose views and expertise helped shape it.”

COSLA Community Wellbeing Spokesperson Cllr Maureen Chalmers said: “Scotland’s local authorities remain fully committed to welcoming and supporting people who are fleeing war and persecution to find safety and integrate in their new communities.

“The New Scots Delivery Plan sets out actions which local authorities will be working towards to help to improve New Scots’ experiences of living in our communities and accessing local services and, importantly, seeks to ensure that they are able to access their rights. Working in partnership with New Scots themselves, and with our partners, including Scottish Government and Scottish Refugee Council, will be key to the successful delivery of this plan.”

UNESCO Chair for Refugee Integration through Education, Languages, Arts at the University of Glasgow and the New Scots Core Group Chair Professor Alison Phipps said: “To develop the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy Delivery Plan, New Scots and communities across Scotland have reflected deeply on what it means to live together, with and despite differences.

“This plan offers an exciting commitment to action across Scotland and to embedding the rights of all who seek refuge.”

£1.6 million to support New Scots

Additional funding has been secured to support work to integrate refugees across Scotland. The £1.6 million in funding will focus on the development of a refreshed New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy, ensuring refugees and asylum seekers are supported to make their new communities their home.

Further projects to receive funding include:

  • small grants to enable wide-scale public engagement across Scotland for the refreshed New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy. This will enable organisations to host engagement events for existing and recently arrived New Scots and ensure barriers to attendance are minimised, including travel and childcare
  • the extension of University of Glasgow’s international research into New Scots integration for Afghan and Ukrainian Nationals, focussing on efforts made by the Scottish Government, local authorities and the third sector to support integration
  • Refugee Festival Scotland – a focal point and celebration of all New Scots in Scotland. This will include providing small grants to organisations to enable them to host events as part of the Festival
  • £500,000 in targeted funding for two of the highest priority areas: ESOL and Employability. The arrival of people from Afghanistan and Ukraine has reinforced the critical importance of employment in allowing all New Scots to rebuild their lives safely and securely thereby reducing the risk of poverty

External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson said: “Scotland has a long history of welcoming people of all nationalities and faiths, including those seeking refuge from war and persecution.

“While continuing to support all refugees and people seeking asylum, in recent years we have seen two large scale resettlement efforts from Afghanistan and Ukraine, with over 20,000 displaced people from Ukraine alone arriving in Scotland since February 2022 and we have had to move quickly to get people the support they need to settle into their new communities.

“The Scottish Government and our New Scots partners are committed to supporting the integration of refugees and people seeking asylum into our communities and providing the safety and security they need as they begin to rebuild their lives.

“Our compassionate approach to support refugees and people seeking asylum living in Scotland is clear and this vital funding will ensure work can continue to refresh the New Scots strategy to take account of the significant changes in recent years and ensure any key learning is reflected.”

COSLA Community and Wellbeing Spokesperson Councillor Maureen Chalmers said: ““COSLA is really pleased to continue to work with partners to build on the previous work of the New Scots Refugee Integration Delivery Project, to ensure there is a robust and responsive strategy to support all communities seeking protection in Scotland. Local authorities play a key role in integration and supporting their communities, including refugees and asylum seekers.

“This funding therefore gives a much needed boost to integration work and in particular the areas of employment and language, as well as supporting the development of the next New Scots Strategy.”

Scottish Refugee Council CEO Sabir Zazi said: “Successful, well integrated communities need support, both for the individuals seeking safety in Scotland and the local areas receiving them.

“We’re particularly pleased to see funding in place to boost English language support and to help people back into employment. These are two areas that are crucial to integration, both for the individuals and families affected and the communities receiving them.”

UNESCO Chair for Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts at the University of Glasgow Alison Phipps said: “At this critical time for those who have sought refuge and asylum in Scotland the successful securing of extended funds for ESOL and Employability projects is greatly needed.

“This builds on the success of the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy as a world leading internationally acclaimed partnership, built on human rights that allows us to make confident steps towards the launch, by the New Scots Partnership, of a refreshed New Scots strategy.”

the New Scots refugee integration strategy, 

00530097Download

Welcome to Your Vote Day!

New Scots urged to register to vote in May elections

The Electoral Commission is running a Welcome to Your Vote Day, today Thursday 10 March, to raise awareness amongst New Scots about their right to vote ahead of the upcoming council elections.

In 2020 the Scottish Parliament voted to extend the franchise for Scottish Parliament and council elections to include anyone aged 16 or over who is resident in Scotland, regardless of their nationality. This means that the upcoming elections will be the first opportunity for many New Scots to vote in Scottish council elections. 

Anyone who wants to vote in the Scottish council elections on 5 May must be registered by midnight on 18 April.

Andy O’Neill, Head of the Electoral Commission in Scotland said: “Welcome to Your Vote Day aims to raise awareness that New Scots have the right to register to vote and have their say on 5 May.

“We have information to help new voters understand the voting process in various languages on our website at www.electoralcommission.org.uk/voter.

“You can’t have your say in the council elections taking place this May unless you are registered to vote, which you can do online now at www.gov.uk/registertovote.”    

The Electoral Commission is also working with organisations across Scotland to ensure that recently-enfranchised voters have the tools they need to confidently cast their vote on issues that affect their day to day lives.

This includes providing resources which community groups and other organisations can use to raise awareness amongst New Scots they work with and run their own registration events.

Luis, who is a member of JustRight Scotland’s JustCitizens Panel and came to Scotland from Mexico in 2014, said: “This year I am going to vote, after living here for a couple of years. I feel like I belong and I would like to think that I have the power to shape the society I live in.” 

Mira from the Just Citizens Panel, who is originally from Poland, said: “I voted in Scotland for the first time in 2017 at the local council elections and, emotionally speaking, it was quite an emotive and powerful event.

“It felt like, even though I had already lived in Scotland for seven years at that point, it really felt like I was part of the society and like I was taking an active role in what was happening to the city that I live in.”

Organisations and individuals who want to raise awareness about the right to vote for New Scots can access the free resources from the Electoral Commission website at www.electoralcommission.org.uk/democratic-engagement-resources.