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This article is provided courtesy of the news feed at http://www.newstartmag.co.uk/news

A new strategy by the mayor of London says successful integration is a two-way street requiring the involvement of refugees and the community at large.

‘London Enriched – the mayor’s refugee integration strategy’ calls for a combination of refugees acting as the architects of their own integration, as well as community participation and support.

Becoming ‘active agents’ would see refugees ‘helping their own communities, reaching out to the settled community and taking an active part in the life of London’, it says.

London enriched sets out seven core themes and objectives:

• English language
• Housing
• Employment, skills and enterprise
• Health
• Community safety
• Children and young people
• Community development and participation

Early action can avoid integration difficulties in the long term, says the report, while developing cohesive communities that ‘offer equality of opportunity, a sense of belonging, mutual understanding and positive contacts between people of diverse backgrounds’ will also make integration easier.

The strategy also outlines plans to work with the Learning and Skills Council, Jobcentre Plus and Employer Partnerships to promote work trials and volunteering opportunities for refugee jobseekers.

Boris Johnson said the report reflected his ‘determination to promote equality of opportunity and community cohesion’.

‘Integration takes in all aspects of life: economic, social, cultural, civic and political,’ he said. ‘The process may continue for a long time after arrival, and must be a two-way street, built on positive engagement by both refugees and the settled communities.’

A key challenge will be to ‘unlock the skills, experience and energy of refugees’ by ensuring that mainstream services are accessible and effective for refugee users.

The mayor’s report also pledges to monitor destitution and exclusion, pointing to evidence that asylum seekers and refugees often become destitute ‘with no means of securing the basic requirements of life’.

Meanwhile, former cabinet minister Clare Short has attacked the government's immigration system, condemning it as ‘Kafka-esque’.

Speaking in a Commons adjournment debate, the independent MP criticised a change in policy which means people must make asylum and financial support applications in person.

The complex system, which withdraws support when an asylum claim is dismissed, is causing destitution, she claimed.

Immigration Minister Phil Woolas said the government had not reduced support.