One of the key features of strong communities is the ability to welcome newcomers. For cities in particular this task is no fluffy, nice-to-have but is existential – cities wouldn’t exist without the constant flow and movement of people as well as goods and finance. Seeing benefits that new arrivals can bring to communities rather than viewing them as threats is one of the unique contributions of cities, and particularly Metro Mayors, to our national political discussion.

But despite the increased focus in recent years on devolution and local deals offering more powers, this aspect of welcoming newcomers is one that is rarely discussed in relation to the role of Mayors. Our new project aims to change that, with a particular focus on those seeking sanctuary in the UK. The project is a partnership between the Good Faith Partnership, NACCOM (the No Accommodation Network) and the RAMP (Refugee, Asylum & Migration Policy) Project, funded by the Lloyds Bank Foundation.

For asylum seekers and refugees, our current systems are not set up to provide people with an experience of welcome. Whilst those on the Homes for Ukraine Scheme might have had a softer landing through being hosted in someone’s home, for resettled Afghans or others claiming asylum the experience has been anything but warm. This is something of an irony given the name of the evacuation from Kabul in August 2021 was ‘Operation Warm Welcome’.

Local Government and the voluntary sector have had to watch with horror in the last few years as an already flawed asylum system has been stretched past breaking point. Mass- scale hotel use, brought in supposedly as a temporary measure during Covid, has become the norm, along with other even less suitable accommodation in the form of military bases and barges. The human consequences for those in the system have been devastating, and for local groups trying to pick up the pieces, the sense of powerlessness to influence and improve this system has been infuriating.

The Good Faith Partnership and NACCOM are already on the frontline working with partners to find solutions to some of the immediate problems of the asylum and immigration system including the current homelessness crisis caused by people being granted refugee status and then being forced out of hotels (and often onto the streets) in a matter of days. But as well as short-term solutions, we also need the space to think about how things could be structurally improved.

This project will start a conversation to reimagine how local systems of welcome could be structured, with a particular focus on the role of Mayors and local actors. We will explore how different areas could be empowered to proactively shape the pathway for people seeking sanctuary in the UK, and what role different types of organisations and groups could play in this process.

One of the reasons we are confident that such an exercise will be useful is that things weren’t always this bad. Before profit-hungry private sector providers gained a monopoly on the provision of asylum accommodation, local government used to be in the driving seat and this led to much better outcomes for individuals. For example, in the North East it used to be common that people in asylum accommodation could stay in their house when they got their refugee status, rather than being forced out in the way they are today as the same organisation was providing mainstream (move-on) social housing. These common sense solutions were possible because the system was set up to put local stakeholders in charge, able to design things in a way that worked best for their own community.

As we start this year-long project, we’re keen to speak to Mayors and those they work with, as well as with local and national groups who are interested in how to design and deliver local systems of welcome for those seeking sanctuary. With both local and national elections taking place in 2024, we believe that now is the perfect time to think big and generate some systemic solutions to make the UK a more welcoming and therefore more integrated and successful place for all.

To contact the project team, please email Geraldine Chacón V at geraldine.chacon.v@goodfaith.org.uk.