Improvement Service

Programme and booking form for the LARIA in Scotland Annual Conference 2012, which takes place on 22 February 2012.

This guide, produced by the Local Government Association (LGA), is intended to assist local authorities and their partners in developing local population and migration estimates and trends, with particular reference to the role of international migration and its impact on local populations, and early warnings of trends in such migrant flows and the extent of population churn.

Fife Council today revealed the findings of the Migrant Workers Survey on behalf of the Fife Partnership. The study, the most comprehensive of its kind, was commissioned to help providers of services to gain a better understanding of workers' needs and aspirations in Fife. A team from the Fife Polish Association carried out a face-to-face survey with 904 migrant workers who were asked about their education, training and qualifications and their working and living arrangements. Their views were also sought on their reasons for coming to Scotland, access to services and their experiences of living and working here. Welcoming the survey Peter Grant Leader of the Administration said: The diversity of people living and working in Fife brings many benefits, including new skills and knowledge to a range of workplaces, balancing population trends and adding to the cultural diversity of Scotland. This survey gives us a much clearer picture of who is living and working in Fife and the issues they face. The findings will help the council and its community planning partners shape services in the future. As an administration our priorities include targeting resources to those most in need, providing access to affordable housing for everyone and encouraging the economic development of Fife. Migrant workers should be treated with equality and I am pleased to see that most of them felt that they had integrated well. Eastern European citizens coming to live and work in Fife make their contribution to the community and economy, through paying taxes and spending. As a result, they are entitled to help and support from Fife's public service providers. Any of the Council's Local Service Centres can provide information and support on things such as, housing, employment, health services, education, money advice, etc. They can also arrange for interpreting services.

Fife Partnership is publishing today (27/02/08) the initial Findings from a survey of migrant workers in Fife, carried out on in collaboration with the Fife Polish Association. This is attached. The work was commissioned by the Fife Migrant Workers Group, which has representatives of services and voluntary organisations. They wished to know more about the needs and aspirations of the increasing number of migrants from the 'Accession 8' countries who joined the European Union on 1st May 2004. Because of the difficulty identifying the people to be surveyed, the survey used a 'snowball' method of personal contacts. This does not have the same statistical rigour as using a sample frame like the electoral roll so caution should be applied in generalising from those interviewed to all migrant workers. Nevertheless the 904 face to face surveys provide a wealth of evidence and insights. Although there may be some over-representation of Polish respondents, the evidence from non-Polish respondents suggests the Findings are likely to hold equally well for other A8 migrants in Fife. The time put in by members of the Fife Polish Association in carrying out the face to face interviews is greatly appreciated. The attached Fife Findings summarises what the responses tell us. We hope that people planning and managing services will discuss the Findings, find the evidence adds to their understanding of these visitors and new Fifers, and give consideration to what it means for opportunities and service needs. You may find it particularly useful for strategy development, action planning and service reviews. Please note these Findings do not include estimates of how many migrant workers are in Fife or where they live. We don't yet have the answers to such questions but the survey will help with further work on this. We would welcome suggestions for further analysis of the data or additional research if it will fill important knowledge gaps. If there is sufficient demand, we will also hold a seminar for discussion of the research findings and implications. If you would like to discuss this research further, do contact Andrew Ballingall, Corporate Research (andrew.ballingall@fife.gov.uk tel. 08451 55 55 55 + Ext 44 08 90) who managed the research project or Zahida Ramzan, Equalities Co-ordinator, who chairs the Migrant Workers Group (Zahida.Ramzan@fife.gov.uk tel. 08451 55 55 55 + Ext 44 12 42 )

Information has recently become available from the Workers Registration Scheme data (WRS) which covers those from the A8 countries. This report provides a summary of the information which is now available from these sources: DWP, WRS plus information from the school census concentrating on the information on the Falkirk area.

In 2005, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, in partnership with Western Isles Enterprise and Communities Scotland, commissioned a study to investigate the dynamics of migration and population change as it affects the Outer Hebrides. The overall aim of the research was to identify the causes, key drivers and socio-economic impacts of population change and to propose evidenced based solutions for achieving demographic, social and economic sustainability for the Outer Hebrides.