Final report of the of Ombudspersons and the Protection of Refugees and Asylum Seekers (OPRAS) project. ACCESS TO PUBLIC SERVICES AND ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR REFUGEES AND ASYLUM SEEKERS IN NORTHERN IRELAND.
Professor Chris Gill - 20th March 2025.
Access to Public Services and Access to Justice for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Northern Ireland
The Ombudspersons and the Protection of Refugees and Asylum Seekers (OPRAS) Project.
The OPRAS project is a collaboration between Professor Chris Gill (University of Glasgow) and the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO), generously funded by the British Academy under the British Academy Innovation Fellowship scheme. The project sought to develop novel collaborations, an evidence base for innovation, and resources to support the protection of asylum seekers and refugees. It aimed to explore transformative approaches to the role and practices of ombudspersons in Northern Ireland and beyond, with the potential to redefine and extend their impact in society. The ultimate aim of the project was to enhance access to justice for asylum seekers and refugees, helping to ensure that they are able to access rights and entitlements. The project ran for a 12-month period between April 2024 and March 2025. For more information about the project, please see: https://oprasproject.wordpress.com/.
A note on the status of this report Although the OPRAS project was conducted collaboratively, this summary report has been written by Professor Chris Gill as an independent piece of academic scholarship. With the exception of the Foreword, the contents of the report, its analysis, conclusions, and recommendations, do not necessarily reflect the position of NIPSO. Instead, the report provides independent analysis designed to support the work of NIPSO and other ombudspersons, civil society organisations, and public bodies in enhancing access to justice for asylum seekers and refugees.
Acknowledgments I would like to thank all the participants in this research who gave generously of their time, experience, and expertise. I would also like to thank NIPSO and all the members of staff who supported this project in various ways. Special thanks to Margaret Kelly and Julie Healy for being so willing to collaborate on the project and for all their help and support over the last year.
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4 | Access to Public Services and Access to Justice for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Northern Ireland
Foreword.
A fair society means everyone should have equal access to justice and the redress it can provide, and the office of the ombudsperson is recognised as a key institution in addressing and providing equal access to justice for all, depending on the remedy sought.
Increasingly ombudspersons provide a route for an individual to seek both resolution from, and accountability for, public bodies and their decision making. However, it remains the case that for some the barriers and challenges they will face, even in accessing the complaints system and thereafter the ombudsperson are much more significant. Since becoming Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman I have made it a priority to ensure that the services of the office are accessible and available and to address barriers that may be faced by particular groups. While Northern Ireland is the most diverse it has ever been; it is also the case that we are the least diverse part of the UK. The experiences of refugees and asylum seekers in Northern Ireland and the difficulties they faced in accessing public services was raised directly with my office by civil society groups. In particular, a change in policy around dispersal and the provision of accommodation via hotels had led to an increase in concerns. My office did not have complaints from this group of citizens and knew that they were unlikely to access the complaints process. While some of the issues were about accessing public services in Northern Ireland some were linked to the Home Office. In April 2023 my colleague, Rob Behrens, the then Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, undertook a number of joint visits with me to hear directly from asylum seekers and refugees on the difficulties they faced. My office had previously worked collaboratively with both Professor Gill and the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, Rosemary Agnew, on addressing vulnerability across the population and it seemed to me that becoming a refugee and seeking asylum brings with it an inherent vulnerability. I also knew that different ombudsperson institutions, internationally, had developed programmes and strands of work to address the complexity of the barriers and the vulnerability this creates. I was therefore delighted when Professor Gill suggested this as a collaboration to enable both my office and public bodies in Northern Ireland to access international learning. I am particularly grateful to the British Academy for providing the funding to enable this to happen. I am also grateful to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, the International Ombudsman Institute and to ombudspersons and their offices internationally for so generously sharing their learning and experiences.
I would also wish to thank the civil society groups who raised issues and concerns with me and participated fully in the research and the public servants in Northern Ireland who participated willingly, shared their policies and approaches and were open to learning. I particularly want to thank those asylum seekers and refugees who shared their experiences, many of which were difficult and traumatic and entrusted those to us. There is much in this research for public bodies to consider and address. However, there is also much for me and my office to consider. I thank Professor Gill for his work and welcome his recommendations for NIPSO. I will seek to take these forward over the remaining few years of my term as part of my commitment to inclusion and accessibility for all people in Northern Ireland.
Margaret Kelly NI Public Services Ombudsman
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6 | Access to Public Services and Access to Justice for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Northern Ireland
Contents.
1. Introduction »
9 9 9
Aims and objectives
»
Methodology and limitations
» Entitlement to public services for asylum seekers and refugees in Northern Ireland » The role and powers of the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman » Previous research relating to asylum seekers and refugees in Northern Ireland » The structure of the report
10 11 12 13
Part I: Asylum seekers and refugees’ access to public services in Northern Ireland
14
2. Intrinsic and situational barriers facing asylum seekers and refugees in accessing public services
15
3. Barriers to access caused by the design and operation of public services » Home office » Devolved public services 4. Barriers to accessing particular public services and/ or facing particular groups » Education and training » Housing » Health » Children and safeguarding
19 19 20 32 32 35 38 39
5. Issues relating to the resourcing and capability of civil society and advice providers
41
Part II: Asylum seekers and refugees’ access to justice (complaints and the role of ombudspersons) 44 6. Barriers to complaining and the role of the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman 45
7. The role of ombudspersons in protecting asylum seekers and refugees: international experiences » Survey findings » International expert roundtable
50 50 54
8. Conclusions and recommendations
59
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1. Introduction.
This report details the key findings, conclusions and recommendations of the Ombudspersons and the Protection of Refugees and Asylum Seekers (OPRAS) project. A summary report of the research is available on the project website. 1 This introductory section will discuss: • The aims and objectives of the project. • The research methodology and its limitations. • Entitlement to public services for asylum seekers and refugees in Northern Ireland. • The role and powers of the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman. • Previous research relating to asylum seekers and refugees in Northern Ireland. • The structure of the report. Aim and objectives The overall aim of the project was to enhance access to justice for asylum seekers and refugees in Northern Ireland and beyond, by focusing on the under-explored role that ombudspersons can play in this area. 2 The objectives of the project were to: • Work collaboratively with the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO) in order to explore the barriers facing asylum seekers and refugees in accessing devolved public services in Northern Ireland. 3 • Develop more collaborative relationships with civil society organisations. 4 • Explore the potential for taking systemic action on issues facing asylum seekers and refugees. • Examine international best practice in relation to the work of ombudspersons in supporting and protecting asylum seekers and refugees.
Methodology and limitations The methodology involved the following activities:
• Three half day workshops with civil society organisations, policymakers, and public service providers (including a total of 37 participants). • 20 qualitative semi-structured interviews, involving 28 participants and lasting between 40 minutes and one hour: 12 interviews were carried out with civil society organisation staff, two of whom had lived experience as asylum seekers and refugees, and eight interviews were carried out with representatives of public bodies. • A survey of International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) members, which received 34 usable responses (14.3% of IOI members). • Seven follow-up interviews with ombudsperson organisations who completed the survey. • An international expert roundtable involving 13 ombudsperson institutions and academic experts from the Netherlands, Serbia, Greece, Denmark, Belgium, Ireland and the UK. • A meeting with a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) and a meeting held with a lived experience group involving two refugees and one asylum seeker. 5 A number of measures were taken to ensure data quality and accuracy. All interviews were digitally recorded and professionally transcribed. Transcripts of interviews were sent to participants, providing an opportunity for data to be corrected. Detailed notes were taken at workshops, which were also sent to participants to ensure accuracy. Similarly, a detailed note was taken of the international expert roundtable and participants were given an opportunity to comment and provide further information. Finally, since this report includes extensive use of quotations from interview participants, interviewees were sent a draft copy of chapters two to six of this report and provided with a further opportunity to correct or clarify any issues.
1 https://oprasproject.wordpress.com/ 2 While there remains debate of whether the term “ombudsman” is gender neutral, this report considers that the term ombudsperson is more inclusive. The term “ombudsman” is only used when this is the official name of a particular ombudsperson institution. 3 The focus of the project was on devolved public services, which are under the jurisdiction of NIPSO. The project excluded consideration of the asylum seeking process itself, which is an excepted matter under the Norther Ireland Act 1998. 4 This report uses the term “civil society organisations” to describe non-governmental organisations including community groups, advice and advocacy organisations, charities, and other third sector organisations. In the Northern Ireland context these are more commonly referred to as Voluntary and Community Sector organisations. 5 The latter meeting was held by NIPSO, however, with agreement of those involved, a note of the meeting with shared for use in this research.
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In terms of analysis, the interview and workshop data were subject the qualitative thematic analysis using specialist computer software. Descriptive statistics were used for the quantitative survey results. The limited sample size precluded the use of more sophisticated statistical techniques. The limitations of the research include the relatively low response rate to the survey, which means that the findings around the practices of international ombudspersons should be seen as exploratory. This limitation was mitigated to some extent by conducting follow up interviews with survey respondents and by discussing the findings and sharing experiences with international colleagues during the international expert roundtable. While the research included some participants with lived experience, it relied predominantly on information provided by civil society organisations and public bodies. That said, there was a high degree of congruence between the themes and issues identified in workshops and interviews and the views expressed by asylum seekers and refugees who took part in the lived experience group. While the number of interviews conducted is appropriate to a qualitative project of this nature, further interviews may have helped to capture additional perspectives that are not reflected in this report. Finally, it should be noted that the research sought to surface people’s subjective views and experiences, recognising that these may be at odds with those of others involved, or be based on underlying divergences with regard to perceived factual circumstances. Quotes from research participants presented later in this report represent the personal views and opinions of participants. Entitlement to public services for asylum seekers and refugees in Northern Ireland Immigration policy (including asylum) is an excepted matter under Section 4(1) and Paragraph 8, Schedule 2 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. 6 This means that only the UK Parliament can make laws in this area. The UK Home Office is responsible for the asylum application process and also has powers to provide support to asylum seekers (including accommodation) under Sections 95 and 96 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. The Home Office has contracted Mears to provide accommodation and support services for asylum seekers in Northern Ireland and other parts of the UK. 7
As noted above, this report is concerned with devolved public services (that is, public services which fall under the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Assembly). As such, it is not concerned with the actions of the Home Office nor its contractor in relation to excepted matters. However, as a result of operating in Northern Ireland, issues arising in Mears provided accommodation may engage the responsibilities of devolved public services. The example that will be discussed later in this report relates to the safeguarding of children. The Children Order (Northern Ireland) 1995 provides the statutory framework for child safeguarding and applies to all children in Northern Ireland. In relation to devolved public services, the research has concentrated on housing, health, and education and has focused only on asylum seekers and refugees. 8 In relation to housing, as noted above, asylum seekers’ accommodation falls under the remit of the Home Office. For refugees, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive has a duty to make provision for those who are homeless under the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1988. The same rules on statutory homelessness apply to refugees as to other members of the public. Similarly, refugees can apply for social housing and their applications will be considered in the same way, under the provisions of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 and the Housing Selection Scheme Rules. In relation to health, health treatment is not considered a public fund and therefore does not fall under the “no recourse to public funds” rules set out under Section 115 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. Some migrants may be charged for certain types of healthcare, however, Regulation 9 of the Provision of Health Services to Persons Not Ordinarily Resident Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 makes clear that such charges do not apply to asylum seekers and refugees. 9 In relation to education, school education is also not considered a public fund and is therefore available on an equal basis to asylum seekers and refugees. 10 In relation to further education, asylum seekers and refugees are entitled to free English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses. Colleges’ normal fee policies apply for other courses. 11 The general position is that students aged 16 – 18 studying level 1 to 3 courses are able to access college courses for free, while those aged 19+ will be charged tuition fees. 12
6 Paragraph 8: Nationality; immigration, including asylum and the status and capacity of persons in the United Kingdom who are not British citizens; free movement of persons within the European Economic Area; issue of travel documents. 7 https://www.mearsgroup.co.uk/news/mears-awarded-three-asylum-accommodation-and-support-contracts 8 The situation of asylum seekers whose claims are unsuccessful was not included in the scope of this research, although this group faces particularly acute challenges. See: Northern Ireland Community of Refugees and Asylum Seeker. 2017. Living in Limbo: The Life of Refused Asylum Seekers. Available from: https://naccom.org.uk/ wp-content/uploads/2017/06/NICRAS-BOOK-16-MAY-07-mail.pdf [Accessed 9 March 2025]. The research has also not considered issues specifically relating to those granted humanitarian protection or other forms of leave to remain. 9 The British Medical Association has produced a helpful toolkit outlining entitlement to healthcare for asylum seekers and refugees in the UK: https://www.bma.org. uk/advice-and-support/ethics/refugees-overseas-visitors-and-vulnerable-migrants/refugee-and-asylum-seeker-patient-health-toolkit/refugees-and-asylum-seekers-entitle- ment-to-nhs-care [Accessed 12 March 2025]. 10 https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/asylum-seekers-and-refugees-education-and-childcare [Accessed 12 March 2025]. 11 https://www.economy-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/economy/FE-circular-10-22-access-ESOL-classes-FE-colleges.pdf [Accessed 12 March 2025]. 12 https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/financial-support-for-further-education-students/ [Accessed 12 March 2025].
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Asylum seekers and refugees are also entitled to complain to the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman with regard to maladministration on the part of devolved public services under the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman Act 2016 on the same basis as any other “member of the public” (Section 5(5) defines a member of the public as “any individual or any incorporated or unincorporated body”, except listed authorities and staff of listed authorities.) In summary, while there are a number of areas in which the rights and entitlements of asylum seekers are different to the rest of the population, 13 in terms of the devolved services considered in this report, asylum seekers and refugees have broadly the same entitlements to housing, health, and education services as others. The issue that is explored in the later sections of this report relates to the difficulties asylum seekers and refugees face in accessing these entitlements in practice. The role and powers of the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman The Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman Act 2016 (the 2016 Act) sets out the statutory framework for NIPSO’s work. In addition to being able to receive and investigate complaints, NIPSO has a power under Section 8 of the 2016 Act to carry out an “own initiative” investigation where “no complaint has been made”. In order for NIPSO to use this power it must have a reasonable suspicion that there has been “systemic maladministration” or that there is “systemic injustice” resulting from the exercise of professional judgment. Section 9 of the 2016 Act requires NIPSO to publish criteria with regard to its use of own initiative powers. The following criteria have been devised by NIPSO: 1. The issue of concern has been identified by the Ombudsman to be one of public interest. 2. The issue of concern affects a number of individuals or a particular group of people. 3. The investigation has the potential to improve public services. 4. The Ombudsman considers the investigation of the chosen issue is the best and most proportionate use of investigative resources. 14
Section 29 of the 2016 Act sets out the procedural requirements relating to own initiative investigations. Prior to commencing an investigation, a proposal must be prepared and submitted to the public body that is proposed to be investigated. The proposal must set out the reasons for the proposed investigation and how the criteria noted above have been met. NIPSO has made use of these powers on a number of occasions following the passing of the 2016 Act. The following matters have been subject to an own initiative investigation: • Restrictive practices in schools (2021). • Personal Independence Payments (2021 and 2023). 15 • Communication with patients on healthcare waiting lists (2023). • The tree protection planning system (2023). In addition, NIPSO has recently issued a proposal to investigate social housing conditions in Northern Ireland. NIPSO was the first ombudsperson in the UK to be provided with own initiative powers of investigation, even though these powers are very common internationally. Own initiative powers of investigation provide ombudspersons with significantly more scope for intervening systemically to identify and redress injustices in public service provision. The value of own initiative investigations has been summarised as follows: • Addressing issues which are not complained about, as a result of a generally low propensity to complain. • Addressing issues which affect particularly vulnerable groups, which are especially unlikely to come to light through complaints. • Addressing matters of general public interest, which concern the fairness of administration, and are generally not the principal focus of other oversight bodies. • Addressing and having a special responsibility for the operation of redress systems and taking on a broader “system fixing” role within the administrative justice system. 16
13 Such as the prohibition, with exceptions, on working, the lack of recourse to certain social security benefits, and the fact that support for asylum seekers is a Home Office matter while their claims are being determined. 14 https://www.nipso.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-09/NIPSO-Own-Initiative-info-sheet.pdf 15 Recent analysis of NIPSO’s own initiative investigation into Personal Independence Payments has shown the value and effectiveness of this power in terms of iden- tifying and remedying significant failures in benefits administration. See: Thomas, R., 2023. The Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman’s Report into Personal Independence Payment and Collective Administrative Justice (Pt 1). Journal of Social Security Law, 30(3), pp.143-161. 16 Gill, C. 2020. The Ombud and Own Initiative Investigation Powers. In A Manifesto for Ombudsman Reform, R Kirkham and C Gill (eds), Palgrave McMillan.
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The framing of NIPSO’s powers in relation to “systemic maladministration” and “systemic injustice” has been criticised as being unduly narrow and out of keeping with the typically broader discretionary powers available to ombudspersons internationally. 17 The precise scope of the terms “systemic maladministration” and “systemic injustice” have yet to be challenged and subjected to judicial scrutiny. However, it is clear that these statutory provisions limit, to some extent, the scope of NIPSO’s discretion in terms of the range of issues that might be subject to own initiative investigation. The own initiative investigation power should not therefore be seen as one that allows any and every potential issue arising in public services to be investigated without a complaint. All ombudspersons in the UK can look at issues systemically (for example, by grouping a large number of complaints together or analysing themes from casework) and all ombudspersons can seek to ensure that their service reaches particularly vulnerable groups such as asylum seekers and refugees. However, having own initiative powers (even subject to the potential limitation noted above) provides significantly more scope for NIPSO to intervene on a systemic basis and to investigate issues from groups that are highly unlikely to complain but very likely to be experiencing inadequate access to public services. Northern Ireland therefore represents a particularly valuable site for questions to be explored about the role of ombudspersons in enhancing access to justice for vulnerable groups. Previous research relating to asylum seekers and refugees in Northern Ireland There is a limited literature focusing on the experiences of asylum seekers and refugees in Northern Ireland. There has not, to date, been specific research addressing access to complaints procedures or NIPSO. In this section, the report provides a brief summary of the key research findings that are most relevant to the aims and objectives of this project. In 2010, the National Children’s Bureau Northern Ireland, conducted research examining the needs and experiences of asylum seeking, refugee and migrant children (including unaccompanied children) in Northern Ireland. 18 Key issues identified in the research included:
• Communication and language issues (including interpretation availability and suitability, and a lack of information available to those who are supporting asylum seeking children). • Education issues (including a lack of focus on children’s non- educational needs, a lack of knowledge around the process for school admission, and difficulties for children arriving close to 16 years old and teenagers in accessing education). • Racism and prejudice (particularly experienced in public spaces and on public transport). • Social isolation and dealing with loss (children are often isolated and processing trauma). • The asylum seeking process is complex and dehumanising (this can negatively impact mental health, with children being fearful of being deported). • Structural and systemic issues (including a lack of policy direction, a lack of confidence on the part of practitioners in their ability to meet the needs of migrant children, and a lack of coordination and inter-agency working). In 2016, The Executive Office’s Racial Equality Unity commissioned Dr Fiona Murphy and Dr Ulrike M Vieten to research asylum seekers and refugees’ experience of life in Northern Ireland. 19 The research was designed to inform the development of a refugee integration strategy for Northern Ireland. The research focused on integration and included both asylum seekers and refugees’ experiences of life in Northern Ireland and their engagement with public services. The most commonly identified problems facing asylum seekers and refugees were: • A lack of legal advice in relation to the asylum claiming process. • Issues regarding the distribution of information across public services. • Poor housing and uncertainty caused by frequent housing moves. • Poor support during the transition to refugee status. • Fear of complaining to public services. • Lack of support for mental health and provision for victims of torture. • Need for information about accessing additional health services, beyond GP registration. • Need for accredited English classes with childcare provided. • A lack of data about asylum seekers and refugees gets in the way of service design and provision.
17 Both the Ombudsman Association and the International Ombudsman Institute made this point in their submissions during the passage of the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman Bill. See: Gill, C. 2020. The Ombud and Own Initiative Investigation Powers. In A Manifesto for Ombudsman Reform, R Kirkham and C Gill (eds), Palgrave McMillan. 18 Geraghty, T, McStravick, C, and Mitchell, S. 2010. New to Northern Ireland A study of the issues faced by migrant, asylum seeking and refugee children in Northern Ireland. Available from: https://www.ncb.org.uk/sites/default/files/uploads/files/17%2520ntni_web_final.pdf [Accessed 9 March 2025] 19 Murphy, F., & Vieten, U. M. (2017). Asylum seekers’ and refugee’s experiences of Life in Northern Ireland: Report of the first study on the situation of asylum seekers and refugees in NI - 2016. Queen’s University Belfast.
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As will be clear in the data reported in sections two to six of this report, many of the issues identified above remain of concern today. In 2022, Belfast City Council in partnership with Belfast Health and Social Care Trust and the Public Health Agency Northern Ireland, commissioned a team directed by Lucy Michael, the African and Caribbean Support Organisation Northern Ireland (ACSONI), and Polish Language, Culture and Affairs (POLCA) to investigate inequalities experienced by Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic, and Traveller people residing in Belfast. 20 While this research did not focus specifically on the experiences of asylum seekers and refugees, it included asylum seekers and refugees as participants in the research and its findings are broadly relevant to the present study. The research included the following key findings: • Housing is a particularly critical issue for asylum seekers, including those living in hotels, with frequent housing moves working against integration. • Access to GPs and health services can be difficult, due to a lack of interpretation availability at the triage stage and sometimes during consultations, and access to mental support is inadequate. 21 • Issues in education relate to racism and discrimination particularly against the Roma, Irish Traveller, and Muslim community. • A number of barriers exist to taking up adult education classes, including long waiting lists, a lack of options, and language barriers, with English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes criticised for their lack of flexibility and variable quality. • Advice and support services are over-stretched and there is a need to combine the expertise of mainstream and community led organisations to achieve better outcomes.
In 2024, the British Red Cross conducted focus group research examining asylum seekers and refugees’ access to GPs in Northern Ireland. 22 The key issues identified in the research included: • Problems booking appointments (including language, the telephone booking system, and inconsistent support from reception staff). • Language barriers (interpreters are not always available, there is lack of awareness of the right to an interpreter, asylum seekers and refugees can feel disempowered due to a lack of language skills). • Lack of information about GP services and broader health services (support is often provided to register with a GP but not subsequently to access one, leading to barriers accessing secondary care). Also in 2024, The Executive Office commissioned the British Red Cross to conduct research into the lived experiences of asylum seekers and refugees in Northern Ireland, however, the outcomes of this research have yet to be published. The structure of the report This report is structured in two parts. Part I examines asylum seekers and refugees’ access to public services in Northern Ireland and reports the findings of the workshops and interviews. It includes four sections examining various access barriers facing asylum seekers and refugees. Part II examines asylum seekers and refugees’ access to justice (focusing on complaints and the role of ombudspersons) and reports on findings from the survey and the international expert roundtable, in addition to workshop and interview data. It includes two sections, one examining complaints and the role of NIPSO and one drawing on international data.
20 Michael, L, Reynolds, D, Kempny, M, Alsharabi, S, Borbely, C, Latcham, N, Logan, E, McDonagh, M, Pilkiewicz, M, Thabet, E, Teglas, M, Long, D, McCarry, P. Inequalities Experienced by Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic, and Traveller People Residing in Belfast. Available from: https://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/documents/re- search-summary-report-inequalities-experienced-b [Accessed 9 March 2025] 21 Issues around lack of access to mental healthcare are commonly reported in research. See: Murphy F, Vieten UM. Asylum seekers and refugees in Northern Ireland: the impact of post-migration stressors on mental health. Ir J Psychol Med. 2022 Jun;39(2):163-172. Mental Health Foundation (2024). The Mental Health of Asylum Seekers and Refugees in the UK. The Mental Health Foundation, UK. 22 British Red Cross. 2024. Policy Brief: refugees and people seeking asylum’s access to GP services in Northern Ireland. Available from: https://www.redcross.org.uk/ about-us/what-we-do/we-speak-up-for-change/-/-/media/documents/about-us/we-speak-up-for-change/access-to-gp-services-in-ni-report.pdf [Accessed 9 March 2025]
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PART I: ASYLUM SEEKERS AND REFUGEES’ ACCESS TO PUBLIC SERVICES IN NORTHERN IRELAND.
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Access to Public Services and Access to Justice for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Northern Ireland
2. Intrinsic and situational barriers facing asylum seekers and refugees in accessing public services 23
Asylum seekers and refugees’ experience of trauma Participants commonly cited the trauma experienced by asylum seekers and refugees (in their home countries, on their asylum journeys, and within Northern Ireland) as creating barriers to accessing services. Some participants in Workshop 2 (W2 participants) commented on the need to recognise that asylum seekers and refugees arrived traumatised into Northern Ireland. CSO8 said that trauma meant that people were in a difficult position to absorb information about how to access services: “… when someone’s in that state, which they have been sometimes for years, of fight or flight… it’s maybe not their priority to hear the ins and outs of how the health system works when they can’t sleep all night without nightmares or flashbacks…” (CSO8). CSO8 noted that for asylum seekers emotional safety was hard to reach even when they were physically safe in Northern Ireland: “That whole process of being an asylum seeker is still a state of panic in some form, like, fear, do you know?” (CSO8). PB5 commented that trauma experienced by asylum seekers and refugees could make it more difficult for them to trust public services; referring to interventions around trauma presenting in schools they noted: “[with] bereavement or other forms of trauma, normally those families would be really willing to communicate and share… But that’s not the case for families who have experienced very traumatic journeys from different parts of the world to get here” (PB5). Workshop 2 participants said that while asylum seekers and refugees often faced the same challenges and barriers as other people the issues were compounded by racism, hate crime, feeling unsafe, language barriers, and poverty. PB2 had a slightly different view and suggested that “… there probably aren’t any specific barriers per se facing refugees and asylum seekers” (PB2). PB2 went on: “For example, you have experienced trauma and you need to access a mental health service. Your issue is about: do you know how to navigate that service? No, you don’t. But neither does the guy who arrived here from Lithuania yesterday. Yes, your need might be greater, but your inability to access and navigate the service is probably exactly the same” (PB2).
Asylum seekers and refugees are not a homogenous group
Some participants in Workshop 1 (W1 participants) 24 said that asylum seekers and refugees do not constitute a homogenous group, with different groups impacted by particular issues to different degrees. PB2 25 noted: “… asylum seekers and refugees are not homogenous... Everything has to be person-centred” (PB2). CSO8 gave the example of differences between arrivals on the Syrian scheme and the Afghan scheme: the former were more likely to be considered vulnerable by virtue of ill health, disabilities, and learning difficulties. PB2 pointed out that particular asylum seeker and refugee groups had acute needs : “There are lots of groups, subgroups and subsets, but for me it’s women and girls, LGBTQIA+ and then probably people with disabilities [who face the greatest challenges in accessing services]” (PB2). W1 participants added that barriers facing asylum seekers and refugees were dynamic and could vary at different stages in their immigration journey. CSO1 pointed out that in addition to barriers varying between individuals and groups, it was very common for issues to cluster: “… everybody that came in yesterday came in on the basis of an education problem. But when we talked to them, it was an accommodation problem, education problem, disability, mental health, it went right across the whole spectrum...” (CSO1). W1 participants highlighted a lack of data collection as an issue, which meant that there was no robust way of knowing in what way the asylum seeker and refugee population (and segments of it) was experiencing a lack of access to public services. Some participants in Workshop 3 (W3 participants) noted, for example, that schools did not record the immigration status of children which meant that opportunities for future planning of services might be missed.
23 As noted in the methodology section, this research sought to surface people’s subjective views and experiences, recognising that these may be at odds with those of others involved, or be based on underlying divergences with regard to perceived factual circumstances. Quotes from research participants presented in this report represent the personal views and opinions of participants. 24 Three workshops were held. Participants in workshop 1 included a mix of civil society organisations and public bodies; participants in workshop 2 were from civil society organisations; participants in workshop 3 were from public bodies. Workshop 1 participants are referred to as W1 participants, Workshop 2 participants as W2 participants, and Workshop 3 participants as W3 participants. 25 All participants in interviews are referred to by a pseudonym. Public body participants are referred to as PB1, PB2, PB3, etc. Civil society organisation participants are referred to as CSO1, CSO2, CSO3, etc.
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Barriers related to language and literacy Language was the most frequently cited barrier and several participants referred to language as the greatest barrier faced by asylum seekers and refugees: “English language would probably be the biggest and most significant barrier” (PB6); “[language] does remain a primary barrier” (CSO10); “I think the language barrier is definitely a major thing” (CSO12); “one of the major barriers is English” (CSO11). CSO7 noted that even where someone had some language skills communication with public services was challenging: “Even if English is their second or third language… they can’t necessarily read it as well… sometimes language can be quite technical… [or] there are just terms that don’t make sense to them when they translate it” (CSO7). W2 participants pointed out that some asylum seekers and refugees, especially women and children who may not have had access to education in their home country, would have communication needs in excess of simply needing translation and interpretation. W2 and W3 participants highlighted digital literacy skills gaps as exacerbating problems, as a lot of information about public services was available in an online only format and accessing some services might require having an email address or knowing how to use QR codes. Lack of knowledge of rights and what to expect from public services W1 and W3 participants pointed out that asylum seekers and refugees often lacked understanding of their rights. CSO3 noted: “… you don’t know your rights as an asylum seeker, what you’re entitled to, where to go…. especially those with families, to navigate the education system, the health system and all the other public services, it’s very difficult” (CSO3). CSO8 pointed out that the issue was not simply awareness of rights but awareness of the process for securing these: “… they might have a general idea that they’re coming to the UK, so the systems are there, but actually how do we break it down to let them know how they can access it?” (CSO8). Connected to the issue of low awareness of rights, PB5 commented on misinformation that existed within some communities which would lead to unrealistic expectations with regard to entitlements. Referring to expectations around securing admission to grammar schools they said: “… that kind of bias gets shared around the communities; and then unfortunately we see it exhibiting in this sometimes unrealistic expectations of admissions to those schools, and then quite a negative response if we are pointing out the obvious on how difficult that is” (PB5). Workshop 3 participants also pointed out that expectations could sometimes be very high as a result of a lack of understanding of the wider pressures on public services which affect everyone in Northern Ireland.
Cultural factors and previous experiences of government authority W1 participants said that fear of authority was an important barrier to asylum seekers and refugees accessing services. Fear got in the way of people learning how public services in Northern Ireland work: “None of us can learn when we are afraid” (W1). Some of the fears of asylum seekers and refugees were well grounded according to W2 participants, who pointed to the (now discontinued) practice of the Police Service for Northern Ireland referring victims of hate crime to the Home Office. CSO5 noted that fear of engaging with authority arose as a result of difficulties experienced with government in their home country: “… these are people who obviously don’t have a great personal experience of the legitimate use of state authority towards them… it just makes them feel less secure here” (CSO5). PB5 noted that asylum seekers and refugees would naturally not be able to make distinctions between different types of state authority: “… you could say on a generic basis families have a deep mistrust of government… It’s very hard for families to separate out what may be a different regime, and they don’t really understand the difference between, say, central government like Home Office, and then local administrations, devolved administrations” (PB5). CSO3 said that some cultural differences might make some people less aware of services and less willing to engage with them: “[In] most African countries, health is not as… free as like here, so you don’t know exactly how to access going to the GP, explaining your conditions, and some things people are not prepared to discuss in terms of mental health, you know, their type of sexual orientation and all this type of thing” (CSO3). PB2 and PB3 raised the issue of cultural taboos which meant people would not seek out services they might need: “… some cultures still don’t talk about mental health issues… there are issues that are taboo, domestic violence, violence against women and girls… they are barriers that we need to take into account” (PB2); “… there are the cultural issues… like FGM [Female Genital Mutilation] or so-called honour-based violence, or people’s fear around speaking… to professionals around what they’ve experienced” (PB3). PB5 noted that asylum seekers and refugees from male dominated societies could experience difficulties in engaging with expectations in Northern Ireland: “… we see it more in general again with male and fathers against female staff, there tends to be levels of verbal aggression… [that are] seen as being reasonable behaviours in some cultures that wouldn’t be acceptable here” (PB5). PB3 noted that cultural factors could also inhibit engagement with interpreters, with some people uncomfortable depending on the gender of the interpreter but also a fear that the interpreter might not exercise confidentiality within their broader community: “I suppose the fear in terms of cultural fear, [is] that it’s… maybe a male sitting in with a female and the cultural issues around that. Or just the fear that the information would be reported back to their home country” (PB3).
16 | Access to Public Services and Access to Justice for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Northern Ireland
Barriers related to gender and sexuality W1 participants referred to particular challenges faced by women. This included cultural dynamics where the mother or other female in the family is not allowed to express her thoughts freely to the public service provider, including her needs or that of other family members: “women are often carrying the whole burden for the family” (W1). An example was provided where the father of the family insisted that their child was capable of attending mainstream school, appearing to view special schools with stigma, and it was only when the father left the room that the mother was able to express the significant needs of the child. Hesitancy in disclosing domestic violence in the home was also observed by W1 participants. W1 participants also highlighted issues faced by women in relation to housing, where their privacy needs were not met either in temporary accommodation or in housing shared between multiple generations. W2 participants said that issues that particularly affected women included lack of access to childcare, lack of access to work in consequence of being unable to access childcare, and lack of access to further education. With regard to childcare, the issues were not only to do with the availability of childcare, but related to cultural reasons where women may not be familiar or comfortable with leaving children in childcare services. W2 participants highlighted that men also faced challenges in accessing services. Men often felt like they needed to be strong and provide for their families, and could suffer significant distress when not allowed to work through the asylum process. Men were more often unwilling to seek help or discuss either physical or mental health problems. This could extend to not wanting to claim entitlements and benefits for which they would be eligible on the basis of not wanting to receive “handouts” . Challenges for men in accessing public services were exacerbated by the lack of specific community support services focused on men (compared to those focusing on women).
W1 and W3 participants discussed the challenges faced by LGBTQIA+ asylum seekers and refugees in temporary accommodation, where they could be subjected to abuse and were fearful about reporting such behaviour. CSO3 said some people would find it hard to be open about their sexuality meaning they were less likely to access support: “…it’s difficult to open up about their sexuality and how to find a support group, you know, approach people” (CSO3). CSO6 said that LGBTQIA+ asylum seekers and refugees were more likely to feel isolated from their own communities: “… where they come from, it was perhaps a hanging offence or definitely jail. So they are very hesitant to discuss anything with their old community. They’re isolated… It takes them a long time to trust and build trust here in this country as well or to speak about it” (CSO6). This could manifest itself in a reluctance to use public services such as health: “… the thought of going up to a place like a sexual health clinic or going to your GP… telling them that you’re gay et cetera and then starting talking about sex then talking about STIs [Sexually Transmitted Infections]… there are just cultural and social norms which they are crossing over.” (CSO7). CSO7 pointed out that many LGBTQIA+ asylum seekers and refugees not only faced prejudice from the local population in Northern Ireland, but also violence from their own community or other asylum seekers and refugees: “A lot of our hate crime… comes from within the communities here… we’ve had attacks, you know, physical attacks, we’ve had doors kicked in accommodation” (CSO 7). PB2 commented that: “I know a guy from South Africa who was living in a hotel full of males who if they knew that he was gay they would have attacked him. How does he access services for himself but without declaring that he is part of the LGBTQIA+ community?” (PB2).
Final report of the of Ombudspersons and the Protection of Refugees and Asylum Seekers (OPRAS) project | 17
Northern Ireland’s history and experiences of racism
The fact that the violent disorder was experienced across Northen Ireland’s communities was described as a “red flag” by CSO11: “Seeing both communities now united, coming together to put the blame on us, ethnic minorities, that is a huge red flag, that both communities have been fighting against each other, have found a common ground to vent their anger” (CSO11). PB2 noted that the longer-term impacts of underlying racism experienced by asylum seekers and refugees and its violent expression in the summer of 2024 would take some time to come to the fore: “Does that impact upon, of course it does, mental health, being stuck in a house, not being able to go out, being afraid, retraumatising people who have been traumatised. Yeah. What is the outworkings of it? We’ll probably not know until the next generation” (PB2). According to CSO7 the effect of the riots had been that “ trust in the safety nets within society has definitely been weakened” (CSO7), while CSO10 pointed to the hesitancy and fearfulness that resulted from people feeling less safe: “… for any of us safety is a primary need. So, when that was compromised or people felt under threat, that leaves a longer term relationship with society…. You know, one of maybe hesitancy and protectiveness…” (CSO10). Several participants said this situation was exacerbated by the divisive political response to the riots: “… politicians play the division… they don’t speak with the same voice…. which makes when you come as an asylum seeker in a very difficult position” (CSO 3). CSO5 agreed: “…a lot of politicians came out and denounced it, kind of, resoundingly. Other politicians came out and said …people who are born here don’t have adequate access to services and so it’s… they feel legitimately threatened. And it’s like, hang on a minute, some behaviours are legitimate and some aren’t, you know” (CSO5).
CSO3 said the recent history of Northern Ireland and its legacy could be an added source of stress and confusion for asylum seekers and refugees: “…coming to a country where there has been big conflicts and everything is about British and Irish, orange and green, Catholic and Protestant… it adds an extra layer of complexity on the stress you have already” (CSO3). PB2 echoed this point: “… how do we expect or anticipate that refugee or asylum seekers could integrate into a society that is not integrated?” (PB2). Seeking integration in a society that was not fully integrated was exacerbated by asylum seekers and refugees’ experience of racism in Northern Ireland. This was a very common theme discussed by participants. CSO7 noted that the experience of racism had a knock-on effect on people’s willingness to push for their rights: “I walk into a shop and there’ll be some remark passed to me, my phone will be knocked out of my hand, I’ll be standing at a bus stop and somebody on the other side of the road will shout over a racist slur. They [asylum seekers and refugees] just know that the best way is… to keep your head down and try and not annoy people” (CSO7). Others pointed out that, particularly following the racist riots that occurred in the summer of 2024, many asylum seekers and refugees felt unsafe and re-traumatised in Northern Ireland : “They will wake up in the morning and just… what they felt whenever they left their home country, they were feeling that. Even they might say, I know it’s irrational, I am largely safe” (CSO7). CSO5 commented “I think there’s a whole issue of racism and racist violence… people are still being intimidated out of their homes, … they’re being intimidated in the street, they’re afraid, you know, there’s racist graffiti going up” (CSO5). CSO8 said that the riots exacerbated trauma that individuals had experienced, referring to the fear of those who were trapped in hotels while demonstrators were outside: “… if you’re living in a hotel, it becomes like a prison. And there’s people outside the door constantly, you know, protesting… And nobody knows the background of the trauma you’ve come from” (CSO8).
18 | Access to Public Services and Access to Justice for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Northern Ireland
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