Conclusion 3: There is a lack of good quality information and advice available to support asylum seekers and refugees’ access to public services Information is often provided in the wrong format at the wrong time. The information on NI Direct (the official government website in Northern Ireland) is not always up to date. Migrant Help (an organisation funded by the Home Office to provide advice to people seeking asylum) sometimes gives inaccurate information, based on public service provision in England. Misinformation about public services is also present within certain communities and community organisations. There is a lack of legal firms conducting asylum casework in Northern Ireland, and a lack of civil society organisations dedicated to providing support and advice to asylum seekers and refugees. Civil society organisations are underfunded and over-relied on to take up the strain by public services that are also underfunded. There is a gap in capacity and skills in some civil society organisations, as well as concerns that smaller, community led organisations are often unable to secure funding.
c. Key issues in particular public services and for particular groups
Earlier sections of this report highlighted a large number of issues facing asylum seekers and refugees, however, the following issues are highlighted as being particular important: In relation to education , a key issue is the lack of adequate provision for asylum seekers who arrive in Northern Ireland between the ages of 14 and 15. Schools can be reluctant to admit this group, because schools do not have resources to provide the intensive support they need. Asylum seekers and refugees are often unable to develop language skills and catch up on education in time to sit GCSEs. This means that they have no formal qualifications and a lack of language skills at 16 when compulsory schooling concludes. Subsequently, there is an absence of pathways into further education and employment. While some English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and essential skills provision exists, it is not necessarily accessible. There are potentially significant and long lasting consequences for this group of young people. In housing , the key issue remains the lack of housing in Northern Ireland, with very long waiting lists for social housing and high prices and competition in the private sector, making accommodation difficult to obtain. Because of these pressures on availability, accommodation options are often unsuitable in terms of their facilities, adaptations, or locations. A key issue in housing is the knock on effect of housing moves for other devolved public services with everything being “accommodation driven”. In health , there have been ongoing issues with GP registration, with the new system involving Health and Social Care Trusts assisting with registration currently subject to delays. There are also ongoing challenges in providing services that meet the needs of asylum seekers and refugees, particularly around mental health support and specialist situational trauma provision. In relation to safeguarding , there is a concern that not all staff in hotels used as temporary accommodation are being Access NI checked and that there is insufficient clarity among devolved public bodies with regard to their roles in ensuring the safeguarding of asylum seeking children in Mears accommodation.
60 | Access to Public Services and Access to Justice for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Northern Ireland
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